Fast Car
by Shauneen
Summary: Haley couldn't take it anymore. Her drunk father had hit her for the first & last time. She didn't expect Nathan to go with her, she didn't expect her friends to keep thier fierce grip. But she was glad they did. Her whole life had changed..for the better
1. Chapter 1

A/N; Mostly a Naley fic, but plenty of Brucus and Jeyton later. Stick with this, I think it's worth it.

CHAPTER 1 - RUNAWAY

Haley James woke with a start. A glass shattered below her and she knew she wouldn't be going back to sleep tonight. Her mothers voice became louder and she could hear the slurred angry tone of her father. They were arguing about his drinking again. Haley covered her head with her pillow and tried her best to drown out the sounds downstairs. Just a few short years ago, Haley's life was drastically different. Her parents rarely fought back then, but then again, she also had a kid brother back then. Her dad had worked as a mechanic down at Scott Motors and her mother taught English at Tree Hill High, but a tragic car accident threw their lives into turmoil and nothing had been the same since. Her father, who had been driving, was seriously injured and her little brother, killed. No one in the James family had recovered from the emotional scars that fateful day had left behind and no one more so than her dad.

The truth was, since that day, Karl James had blamed himself and without ever voicing it, Carrie, his wife, blamed him as well. In the three years since the accident happened, Karl had to give up his job due to the chronic back pain he suffered as a result and Carrie had to take on a second job to support the family and pay for the hefty medical expenses that their insurance hadn't covered. At 14, Haley was too young to contribute to the household income and their broken family struggled in many ways.

Another crash from downstairs made Haley jump out of her bed and tiptoe out to the hallway. She could hear her mother sobbing and cursing her husband.

"Look at yourself! You're pathetic! You're nothing but a crippled drunk, a complete waste of space!" Carrie hissed at her husband.

"And you're nothing but a cheap whore! You think I don't know about you and that. . .that kid from the high school?" Karl slurred. "The whole town knows, Carrie. Everyone knows that you were screwing him behind the bleachers on Sunday night. And you say I'm pathetic? Take a good look in the mirror, babe. Carrie James getting her jollies from Brad Padalecki, the 18 year old centre forward for the Tree Hill Ravens. You always did have a thing for basketball players didn't you?" Karl threw his now empty bottle across the room, shattering it against the fireplace.

"I had to get it somewhere, didn't I Karl? It's not like you've been up to the task these past few years, have you?" she screamed back.

At the top of the stairs, Haley fell to her knees and cried quietly. She thought of Brad Padalecki, the senior that she had a crush on the whole of her freshman year at Tree Hill High. Was he really sleeping with her mother? Would her mother really do that? She had practically confessed. Haley winced when heard the loud, hard slap of her fathers hand across her mothers face. He rarely let things go so far as to actually hit his wife, but already this argument was worse than their usual squabbles over money and drinking.

Haley slowly crept halfway down the stairs, unable to hold back her tears anymore.

"I hate you." Carrie whispered between gritted teeth. "I hate what you've become. You ruined my life."

Karl flinched, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He opened another beer and took a large gulp before falling heavily onto the couch. "You think I don't hate what I've become? You're no cherub either, Car." Karl sighed, his body sinking into the chair as he idly scraped the paper from the beer bottle. "Since when do you sleep with high school kids? Since when do you throw your whole life away?"

Carrie shrugged and stifled a sob. "My life ended when Aaron's did. I have you to thank for that." she looked at her husband bitterly. "I don't have anything left in me anymore."

"When are you leaving?" he asked, ignoring her grief. She shrugged again, unsurprised by his question.

"Tonight. As soon as I have a few things packed."

"What about Haley? What am I supposed to tell her?" Karl looked at her accusingly.

"I don't know. I need to get out of Tree Hill, this place is killing me and I can't take her with me."

On the stairs, Haley bit into her fist hard to silence her heavy sobbing.

"Are you leaving with the boy?" Karl looked hard at Carrie, not seeing a single trace of the woman he fell in love with and knowing that she felt the same way. Her silence answered his question.

She stood wordlessly and smoothed her clothes, wiping her mascara from under her moist eyes and began to sweep up the broken glass and straighten up the living room. She didn't want Haley to wake up in the morning and have to clean all this up.

Haley silently crept back into her room and locked the door. An hour later, she watched in calmly when her mother attempted to open the bedroom door to look at her daughter for the last time, but she made no move to unlock it. Haley had stopped crying by the time Carrie had pulled out of the driveway and out of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Nathan Scott checked his watch again and sighed. He was 10 minutes late for his first class and there he was sitting in the front seat of his fathers Range Rover as he lectured him for the umpteenth time about the upcoming game on Friday night.

"This is an important game, son. Fox Creek were undefeated last season, this is your chance to show them that the Raven's won't be walked over this year. You're the captain now, Nate. It's your job to see this through. Forget about the other guys, this game is about you." Dan Scott said seriously. "Don't let me down, son."

Nathan rolled his eyes and dragged himself out of the car. He had to force himself to go to class especially since his teachers were threatening to flunk him if he didn't start showing up and getting better grades, not to mention have him kicked off the team. At the start of the semester, he had been told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't get his act together he wouldn't graduate this year and that had definitely been the kick up the ass he had needed. No way did he want to spend another year in this dump, so he'd signed himself up for the tutoring programme. It turned out to be the best thing he'd done because it was there that he'd gotten to know Haley James. Nathan smiled as he thought about the girl who had managed to crack through the stone wall that had been around his heart for most of his life. She was completely unlike any other girl he had dated in the past and that was probably the reason he'd found himself so smitten with her. Before Haley had become his tutor she had just been the rebellious geek who just happened to be his brother's best friend, but there was so much more to her than what everyone thought. Nathan saw her obsessive need to get out of Tree Hill and understood why she worked so hard. He got why she so desperately wanted to get away from the aftershocks her parents had left her to deal with. Nathan Scott, more than anyone, knew what it was like to be gossiped about because their parents couldn't keep their pants on. Haley's mother ran off with one of her students 3 years ago. Nathan's father got 2 girls knocked up in high school and now his 2 sons play on the same basketball team. Couldn't people find something else to talk about?

Nathan managed to get through his classed without getting yelled at which meant it was a good day. Lunch rolled around and he made his way to the quad, remembering that Haley had a tutoring session so he could hang with his team mates for an hour.

"Hey!" Lucas, the famous half brother said as Nathan threw himself into a seat next to him.

"Where's my Jay-Z CD?" Nathan demanded without any preamble.

Lucas sighed and reached into his backpack and pulled out the CD in question as he shovelled down a sandwich. "It's on my MP3 player now so I don't need it." he stated with his mouthful. "Mom wants to know if she should make extra spaghetti tonight?" Lucas asked, distracted by the group of cheerleaders passing by the table and trading mock insults with the boys at the table. Nathan rolled his eyes as Lucas smiled dopily at Brooke Davis who winked at him and gave a small wave.

"Will you just ask her out already? It couldn't be more obvious that she wants to get in your pants. Stop being such a pansy and you just might lose your virginity this century." Nathan stole the other half of Lucas's sandwich and had it down his throat in two bites. "And tell your mom thanks, but I have plans with Haley tonight."

Lucas noticed his sandwich was gone and scowled at his brother. "I'll ask her out when I'm good and ready and would you shut up about the V issue!" he hissed. Nathan guffawed at his brothers sensitivity. "Ooh touchy! Quit PMS-ing and I'll shut up." Lucas was about to make his comeback when Peyton Sawyer joined the group, wedging herself between him and Nathan.

"Peyton, do you really want to sit here and listen to us guys talk about breasts, masturbation and sports while you eat your lunch?" Nathan asked his odd blonde friend.

"I have 3 brothers, you really think this conversation is new to me?" Peyton raised her eyebrow at him, daring him to challenge her. He just shrugged and made a little bit more space for her so she could get comfortable. Peyton had been his best friend since they were 8 and he had chased some girls in his class with a spider squashed between his fingers. The girls ran screaming, but Peyton had caught him in a headlock and asked him how he liked being squished like a bug. Soon after, she declared that Nathan was her new brother because she didn't like the ones she had. Even a couple of years later when they found out about Lucas, she 'adopted' him as well. Peyton seemed to prefer hanging out with guys rather than girls. She had been raised by her single father and had 3 older brothers, so she was usually a little bit awkward in the company of girls, even Haley.

The three sat in silence for a few minutes while they ate, listening to the cheerful banter around the table about the game on Friday night.

"Has your dad given you the speech yet?" Peyton asked carefully, not wanting to darken both Nathan and Lucas's mood by bringing up their shared oppressor.

Nathan nodded gravely. "This morning. The usual bullshit about the scouts and not ruining the Scott name. Bla bla bla. That's all I hear when he talks."

"Just another reason why I'm glad that Dan Scott wants nothing to do with me." Lucas stated coldly.

"Count yourself lucky, bro." Nathan patted his brother's back, knowing full well that a lot of the crap Lucas says about Dan was just a front. When Lucas was a kid, he used to wish he lived with Dan and got to play ball with him every day and just basically have a Dad. When they found out they were brothers, Lucas would ask question after question about what it was like to have one. Over time though, Lucas had started to realise what Dan was really like through Nathan, and even though he and Nathan would bitch about their father, deep inside Nathan knew there was an 11 year old Lucas in there still wanting to be accepted by his father.

"You guys should thank your lucky stars that you have a hands-off dad." Peyton said mock-seriously. "Guess what mine did last night?"

Lucas and Nathan stared blankly at her, refusing to indulge her guessing game and waited for her to give in.

"Ok, fine, don't guess. Daddy and Peyton had the 'sex talk' last night."

Nathan and Lucas chuckled, jarringly alike, both in sound and facial expression.

"That must've been fun." Lucas prompted.

"Oh so much!" Peyton yelled sarcastically, attracting a few glances from the others at the table. "I swear, I'll never look at a cucumber again without recoiling in humiliation!"

"Oh god, he pulled out the condom?" Nathan suppressed a laugh, thankful that his dad didn't care enough to even go through the motions of a sex talk. He learned the traditional way - porno flicks.

"Oh yeah. Gave me a whole pack. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he's about 2 years too late."

"You little hussy!" Lucas joked as he pulled one of her curls.

"You're just jealous, Mr Virtuous." Peyton swatted away his hand and pinched his hip playfully.

"It isn't for lack of trying, trust me. It's kind of tantric, no? I'll be amazing when I finally do. Brooke will appreciate it." Lucas grinned cheekily when both Nathan and Peyton pulled a face.

"Dude, too much information." Nathan downed the last of the soda he had managed to swipe from Peyton when she sat down. She slapped his head when she noticed it missing.

"You damn klepto!" she hissed at him. "Go and get your own fucking lunch!"

Nathan laughed as he rose from the table. "Ok, I'll jack ya and leave ya. I'm out, gotta go work these brain muscles in chemistry."

"Maybe you'll upgrade from light featherweight today?" Peyton giggled and threw her napkin at him but he dodged it and gave her a devious smile as he retreated from the group.

Later that evening, as Haley lay on Nathan's bed, her head rested on his chest as he stroked her arm. The sun was going down, casting a red glow into the room, their shadows beginning to form on the wall. They lay in comfortable silence and Haley counted each beat his heart made.

"My dad fell down the stairs last night." she said, her voice cutting away at the stillness.

Nathan looked down at her, his eyes wide. "Is he ok?"

"Yeah." she answered quietly. Nathan thought he saw disappointment in her eyes. "He was drunk." her voice had taken on that heartbreaking tone that he only ever heard when she spoke about her father, which was rare. "He's always drunk. Sometimes I wish I could just runaway from it all. Forget that I ever had this life. I've been the dutiful daughter for 3 years. Cooked and cleaned for him, taken care of him even when he's so out of it he can't remember who I am. I mop up his vomit, wash his filthy clothes and wake up and do it all over again the next day. Then I work all weekend, trying to earn enough money to support us and I'm still expected to make good grades, tutor those who don't, and get into college." Haley swallowed a sob and Nathan held her tighter. He kept quiet, wanting her to go on and let it out. She so rarely let her guard down, even with him, that these moments were the ones that counted most. When she could cry in his arms and he would assure her that her life was going to get better, that they had a future together away from Tree Hill and she would finally be happy.

"Do you know what he said to me?" she whispered. "He said I was just like my mother. Running around screwing basketball players, thinking I was better than everyone else. Thinking I was better than him. He said it with such a hatred. I've never seen him like that before, I thought he was going to hit me."

Nathan looked down at her sharply. "He ever hits you, I'll bury the bastard. I mean it, Hales. He won't ever touch you."

"He was just drunk. I don't think he means the things he says." Haley went into defence mode, it came so naturally to her when anything bad was said against her father. "He's an angry, bitter man and he takes it out on the person he loves the most." she insisted, almost believing it.

"I guess." Nathan yielded, not wanting to turn this into a fight, knowing how easily Haley would turn against him to defend her father, no matter how fucked up the things he said to her were. He knew firsthand how bitter parents could be when their lives didn't turn out the way they had planned. He saw everyday how disappointed his mother and father were with their lives and each other, and probably their son too.

"I don't wan to live my life like this anymore…" Haley said absently as she twisted her hair around her fingers.

"We graduate soon, you don't have to do this for much longer." Nathan kissed her silky hair softly. "When we go to college, we don't have to worry about our parents anymore. We'll be free. We both have our scholarships, we don't have to depend on them." Nathan smiled warmly at her. "We'll start our new life."

Haley smiled tightly and nodded. _The problem is that he depends on me _she thought. She wrapped herself tightly in Nathan's arms. Right now she didn't want to think about any of that stuff, or how she was going to tell Nathan that she wasn't going to college. Right now she just wanted to lose herself in the guy she loved.

A/N; Please please review!!!! Your thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N; Thanks for the positive feedback! Keep it coming!!!

CHAPTER 3

Dan sat quietly eating his breakfast as his wife pottered around the kitchen, having decided to take a rare day off from work, choosing instead to drive him crazy.

"I was thinking that maybe the three of us could do something today." Deb suggested, loading up the dishwasher and hoping her husband wouldn't choose something sports related.

"I have an important meeting this morning." Dan retorted dismissively.

"It's Saturday." Deb pointed out just a little bit scornfully.

"Just because you take a day off work Deb, doesn't mean the world stops turning."

Deb slammed the dishwasher door closed and glared at her husband _Why do I even bother? _she wondered, not for the first time. She knew he was still reeling from the loss at last nights basketball game, but that was no reason for him to act like a complete bastard, especially when she was making an effort to spend time with her family.

"Well maybe Nathan and I will do something." Deb smirked.

"Yeah right." Dan grunted. "I'm sure a 17 year old boy wants to spend his Saturday hanging out with Mommy. Be real, Deb. You work 6 days a week and sleep off your hangover most of the 7th day. You wouldn't even know the first thing about what to do with your son today."

Deb balked at him and suppressed the urge to slap him. "And you do?" she argued. "You think waking him up at 5.30 every morning to work out and berating him about basketball is classed as 'quality time'?" Deb laughed. "Maybe you need to get real and stop forcing him to live out your unfulfilled dreams."

"I'm preparing him for his future. He'll thank me one day." Dan picked up a newspaper and began to read, conversation over.

Deb threw a damp towel onto the counter, the snap causing Dan to look up sharply. "Did you ever stop to think, Dan, that what you want might not be what Nathan wants?" she yelled before storming out.

"And you're such an expert…" he muttered after her.

Nathan had overheard his parents fight and chose to avoid both of them today. He didn't want another lecture from his father and he really didn't feel comfortable hanging out with his mom all day. Haley was working today so he decided he would go and hang out at Lucas's place. He spent a lot of time there, much to the annoyance of both his parents, but he didn't care. Karen had always been really cool with him and when he was younger and Deb and Dan were working, she would always make sure he had a good dinner in his belly and helped him with his homework.

"Hey Nate!" Karen greeted him cheerfully as she always did when he entered the house through the back door, years past the point of knocking. She dropped her laundry basket onto the floor beside the washing machine and sighed. "No rest for the wicked, huh? I don't know how Lucas wears so many clothes in one week." she joked. "Help yourself to a drink or grab a bite to eat. Have you had breakfast yet? There's bacon left over in the microwave. It's crispy, your favourite."

"Thanks. Is Lucas around?" Nathan asked as he seized a bottle of soda from the fridge and picked at the plate of bacon and cold toast.

"No he's doing a shift at the café this morning. I had to get the laundry done so I sent him to cover for me. He'll be back by lunch if you want to hang out until then?" Karen answered, now preoccupied with separating her whites from her colours.

Nathan smiled gratefully and grabbed a pile of clothes. "I'll make myself useful."

Haley opened the front door wearily and stepped inside her dark house. She flicked the light switch on the wall and nothing happened.

"Shit!" she cursed as she quickly came to the conclusion that her father had not yet paid the electricity bill. She felt around until she found the candles that she kept scattered around the house for such an occasion and lit each one. The candle light gave the house an eerie glow and Haley noticed for the first time that her father was passed out on the couch, the remains of a barbecued chicken box on the floor next to him. She also noticed the empty bottle of whiskey next to it.

"Great." she muttered to herself as she quietly began to tidy up the mess Karl had created. The last thing she wanted to do was wake him up before he got sober. He stirred and turned on the couch, but began to snore softly. Haley breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she wouldn't have t deal with him tonight. She was exhausted after a very long day at work and she would have to get up again tomorrow morning for the breakfast shift at Karen's.

Putting the last of the trash into the can out in the yard, Haley lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. Yeah, she knew all the health warnings but it was her guilty pleasure and she only ever indulged during times of great stress or worry. No one knew about her secret habit, not even Lucas. She was smoking a little more than usual lately as her stress levels had gone up and up. How was she supposed to tell Nathan that she wasn't going to college? That she wasn't even going to graduate? After years of working her ass off in school and out, she had missed too many classes and too many assignments and had failed to keep up. It was quite ironic. Those she tutored were going on to better things but she wasn't going anywhere. She'd had her heart set on Duke University since she was 11 years old and now she was watching her dreams being torn away from her. _What's the point anymore? _she wondered as she ground the cigarette into the grass. She might as well give up school now and get a full time job so she can support herself and Karl. She might as well get used to it, this was her life now.

"Haley! Haley? Where are you?" the groggy voice called. "HALEY!" Karl screamed. Haley wiped away her tears and went back into the house where her dad was struggling to stand up. "Why aren't the lights on? Why are there candles?" he demanded.

"The lights aren't on because you didn't pay the light bill, Karl." she had stopped calling him dad a long time ago. "You bought a few six packs instead." she said dryly.

"Don't you give me cheek, girl!" Karl warned. "I paid the damn bill!"

"No you didn't! Again, you spent the money on booze, Karl. Just like always. I knew I shouldn't have let you have it." Haley retorted bitterly.

"I'm warning you." Karl stumbled toward the kitchen and reached inside the fridge for another beer.

"Wasn't the whiskey enough?" Haley muttered and shook her head in despair. The glass bottle whizzed by her head and shattered against the wall, just missing her.

"STOP IT! Just shut the fuck up! I don't need another lecture from Ms. Perfect!" Karl screamed into his daughter' face.

Haley narrowed her eyes at him. "Get out of my face." she warned but it went unheeded. The punch came out of nowhere and Haley flew back against the wall, his fists working furiously as he used his body weight to hold her down. She kicked and punched back as hard as she could while shrieking for him to stop. Suddenly, Karl seemed to lose all his strength and he fell backwards in a heap. He was weeping hysterically and staring wide eyed at his daughter whose face had already started to swell and blood poured from her lip.

"What have I done?" Karl whispered.

Haley stood carefully and winced as she leaned her weight on her right foot. "You feel better now?" she asked defiantly, her voice hoarse from screaming. "That's it. No more. I can't take this shit anymore." she looked around her, knowing that this was the last time she would see this house. "You were right about one thing, Dad. I am like mom. I'm packing my stuff and I'm getting out of here. You'll never lay your hands on me again. First and last time, Karl." She began to walk away but turned back before climbing the stairs. "The accident wasn't your fault, Dad. Please believe that and get help. Get help before you kill yourself." she continued up the stairs, leaving her father weeping on the floor.

"Don't leave me, Haley. Please don't leave me baby." he cried after her.

Nathan woke up to the sound of a heavy pounding downstairs. He could hear his parents waking up in the room next to his and his father rushing down the stairs, cursing the disturbance. Nathan crept out of his bed and reached for the baseball bat he kept under it, and went to the top of the stairs to see what the commotion was. At the sound of Haley's voice, he dropped the bat and bolted down the stairs.

"What the hell is this? Do you have any idea what time it is young lady?" Dan boomed at an hysterical Haley. He saw her bruises and swollen lip and took a step back when Nathan pushed past him, taking her into his arms.

"What happened?" Nathan's eyes were filled with fear as he took in his girlfriends appearance.

"My dad…" Haley stammered. "He…he lost it."

Nathan snapped his jaw shut, afraid he might scream and he clenched his fists as Haley sobbed in his arms, recalling what happened.

"I'm going to kill him!" Nathan yelled and smacked his fist into the wall. He stormed up the stairs and came back down with the baseball bat firmly in his hands, his knuckles white. Deb had joined her husband in their hallway and gasped in horror when she saw Haley's face.

Haley cried harder and grabbed hold of her boyfriend tightly. "No! Please don't go there. Just leave it!" she cried. Nathan gritted his teeth and stared stonily at the door as he tried to push towards it. Dan stepped in and held him back and wrestled the bat from his hands.

"You're not going anywhere, son. Haley, I think you should leave. This isn't our business and I don't appreciate you trying to drag my son into your mess."

Nathan and Deb both looked at him with repulsion. Haley stepped towards the door quietly, not sure where she should go. She knew Karen would take her in without question, but Lucas and Keith would react exactly the way Nathan had done. "I packed everything I could. I'm not going back there. I'm leaving Tree Hill." she tried her best stay composed and stop crying but she couldn't seem to make the tears stop.

"What?" Nathan wasn't sure if he'd heard her right. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Anywhere. Away from here."

"You don't have to leave, Haley. What about graduation? College is just a few months away, Hales. You can stay with Keith and Karen until then. You don't have to go anywhere!" Nathan was growing more panicked as he thought of her leaving town and leaving him behind.

Haley looked sadly back at him. "I'm not graduating, Nathan. I couldn't catch up. Working at the café, tutoring and taking care of Karl took up too much time. I'm not going to college." she whispered the last part, almost not believing it herself. Her whole life she had worked hard and studied hard and dreamed of the day she would be free of the weight she carried around. Now it was slipping away. She was slipping away. "I can't stay here. It's killing me." she said painfully.

Nathan took a step back and looked at her hard. He could feel his parents eyes on him, both still silent which was unusual for them. They probably couldn't wait for Haley to get out of there so she wouldn't be their problem anymore. "So that's it? You're just leaving? Why didn't you tell me any of this? I could have helped you!" Nathan looked at her pleadingly, his eyes watering. The look on his face was breaking her heart and she knew if he asked her to stay she would. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her, she loved him completely and would do anything for him.

"Please don't ask me to stay…" she pleaded with him. _Please, please don't ask that of me._

"I won't ask you to stay." Nathan announced. "I'm going with you."

"_WHAT?!" _both his parents shouted in unison.

Haley shook her head no "I won't let you, Nathan. You have a life here, you're going to graduate and go to college…"

Nathan was shaking his head and his eyes were lighting up with ideas and possibilities. "I don't have a life without you. I'm leaving with you and you can't change my mind, unless you don't want me with you."

Haley stood there, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe what he was willing to do to be with her. Was he serious? Would he actually go through with this? "Of course I want you with me, Nate. But I'm not going on vacation, I'm leaving for good. Can you do that?"

"Over my dead body!" Dan intervened, having heard enough and grabbed his son's arm harshly. "You are not going anywhere, Nathan. Haley, get the hell out of my house!"

Nathan shook free from his fathers iron grip and gave him a steely glare, challenging him to grab him again. Father and son stood toe to toe, neither prepared to back down.

"Nathan, can't just leave. Think about this, sweetheart. Think about you're future. You'd be throwing it all away, everything you've worked so hard for!" Deb cried frantically, seizing her son's hand and forcing him to look at her. "Please, baby, think about this."

"There's nothing to think about. My future is with Haley, and where she goes, so do I." he turned to Haley and caressed her swollen and bruised face. "I love you. You're not leaving without me."

Haley nodded, quietly accepting his decision. It took less than 10 minutes for Nathan to pack what he thought he needed. His parents fought him the whole time, up and down the house, several times nearly coming to blows with Dan. He ignored his father's threats and his mothers pleas, even when Dan swore to cut him off if he walked out of the house.

Haley waited outside for him, trying her best to block out the yelling that was going on inside and convince herself that this was the right thing to do and bringing Nathan with her wasn't selfish.

"You'll be back in a week!" Dan screamed from the doorway as Nathan made his way over to his car. "It'll never work Nathan. The real world is gonna kick you in the ass and you're gonna realise that you made the biggest mistake of your life giving all this up!"

Nathan threw his and Haley's belongings into the car and opened the passenger door for her. Haley hesitated for a moment and looked up at him guiltily. "Are you sure about this Nathan?" she asked cautiously.

He smiled at her, his wide, warm and loving smile that was reserved completely for her. "Never been more sure in my life." he answered firmly. Haley grinned at him as much as she could with her split lip and hopped into the car.

_You are now leaving Tree Hill _Haley read the sign at the town border as they whizzed by and she leaned closer to Nathan and smiled up at him. She felt her worries begin to melt away. This was the beginning of their new life. Things were only going to get better for them now.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!! JUST PRESS THAT LITTLE SUBMIT BUTTON DOWN THERE!!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"So where are you staying?" Lucas spoke quietly into the phone, his mother hovering impatiently beside him in the busy café.

"We're staying above the garage at Gary Kemper's house." Nathan answered. "You remember Gary? We went to basketball camp with him 2 years ago? I called him when we got to Raleigh and he offered to put us up. It's just temporary until we move on."

Lucas passed on this information to Karen, but it still didn't calm her. "Do they need money?" Karen could hear Nathan's answer of 'no', Lucas shook his head and shooed her away.

"Nate, are you sure you know what you're doing? You and Haley have been gone a month, I know you cleared out your account, but your money must be starting to run out by now…"

"Luke, we're doing fine. We're leaving for Connecticut in a day or so. Haley has a friend in Hartford who we can stay with for a little while. She might be able to hook us up with jobs and an apartment. Listen, I have to go. Tell Karen thanks for the offer but we're good and tell Peyton, I'll call her as soon as we arrive in Hartford."

"Ok, well…" Lucas swallowed hard. He'd been worried sick ever since he'd gotten a phone call in the middle of the night from his brother and best friend telling him that they were running away. "If you guys need anything, I mean anything, please call us. Call back soon. And take care of Haley. And you know, take care of you."

"Thanks, bro. Take care of you. Bye." Lucas hung up the phone and turned to his mother who now had Peyton by her side both with worried, desperate looks on their faces. That was only the second call they had received since that first night.

"What did he say? Where are they?" Karen asked.

"They're still in Raleigh, they're moving to Hartford this week." Lucas relayed as much of the information as he could and patiently answered their questions of which there were many. Exhausted, Lucas threw himself into a chair and buried his head into his hands. He hadn't slept much in nearly a month, not since that excited phone call at 4am from Nathan, telling him everything that had happened. By the time the call had ended, Lucas was flying down the highway at 90mph, desperately needing to punch something. He had purposely chosen Haley's house as his destination, however, Keith, his uncle and mother's boyfriend, had pulled him off Karl James before he had done any real damage. Keith had managed to convince Karl not to call the cops and press charges with a few threats of his own.

And now here he was, worried sick for his brother and best friend, desperate to help them as much as he could. Peyton lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They're ok, Luke. Haley's a big girl and she has a wise head on her shoulders. And Nathan, well Nathan's Nathan. He always lands on his feet."

It was just at that moment that Dan Scott entered the café and eyed his offspring warily. Lucas leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes, waiting for the onslaught.

"Danny, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Keith announced as he appeared from the back room. His timing, as always, was impeccable.

"I'm here to find out where my son is." Dan stated, his voice calm and cool. Dan Scott was never one to lose his cool, especially in front of a crowd. He stared down his big brother, and as usual, won.

"Why would I tell you that?" Lucas snapped, his temper starting to flare the more Dan smirked at him. "You show up here a month later, wow, what a caring father."

"At least Nathan has one to show concern for him." Dan retorted, his expression slightly amused.

Lucas flushed, embarrassed that Dan could still humiliate him like that. He couldn't believe that he had ever wanted this man to accept him. Dan turned his attention back to Keith who was obviously becoming more agitated by his brother's presence. "You obviously know where Nathan is, so if you care to share…" Dan looked at him expectantly but Keith just glared back at him. Clearly, Dan wasn't getting what he wanted here and they were beginning to draw an audience. Karen glowered at him from behind the counter and Lucas's cute little blonde friend looked about ready to pummel him. Sneering, he looked pointedly at his other child. "I heard about your little melee with Karl James. I hope you were able to alleviate some of the guilt." Dan turned to leave but smiled when his son took the bait.

"What guilt?" Lucas looked a little perplexed. _And I'd heard he was a smart kid_. Dan thought to himself.

"You were obviously feeling guilty about what happened to your little friend. I mean, come on Lucas. The whole town knows Karl likes a drink and used to beat on his wife. Yet, strangely, none of you tried to help Haley." Dan feigned confusion. "And you were all supposed to be like a family to her. Some family." he looked a Karen gleefully. "Wasn't her job here part of the reason she couldn't keep up at school?" he turned back to Lucas. "And aren't you supposed to be her best friend? You've known her your whole life, but ya still let her get her face smashed up by her drunk daddy." Lucas eyes were beginning to fill with shame. "You should have seen her. Her eye was swollen shut, her lips so big she could have passed for Angelina Jolie's beat up twin sister -"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Karen roared. She stormed around the counter and gripped Dan's arm tightly, her fingernails pinching the skin of his bare arm. "Get out!" she forced him to the door, but Dan twisted out of her grip and took one last look at the group and laughed. "I guess I'm not the bad guy after all."

Nathan rested the phone in it's cradle and turned to Haley. He smiled at her but was so tired that it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Everything is ok in Tree Hill, anyway."

"Has Lucas seen my dad?" Haley asked as she chewed on her fingernails. The bruises on her face had finally disappeared, her skin soft and smooth again.

"He hasn't seen him. I'm sure he's fine." Nathan assured her. He didn't tell her what Lucas had told him about going after Karl. He was glad Lucas had done what he didn't have the chance to do, but he didn't want to upset Haley anymore than she had been over the past few weeks.

"Whatever. I don't care anyway."

"Maybe we should leave for Hartford tomorrow." Nathan suggested. "I don't want to overstay our welcome here and our money is almost gone. We really need to get jobs."

Haley nodded her agreement and silently began to pack up their things. The room they were staying in was comfortable, if a little cold, and was mainly used for storage. Gary's parents were spending a few months in France so there was plenty of space and freedom to do as they pleased, but Gary was getting a little anxious about his parents finding out.

They were going to travel to Hartford where an old friend of Haley's mom lived. Joanna had been Carrie's roommate in college and was sympathetic when Haley called. Watching her pack now, Nathan felt a pang of sadness. Two months ago, he would never have dreamed that this is what he'd be doing. Nathan's plan had been to graduate high school and go to Duke University where he would play basketball and get a degree. Now here he was, hundreds of miles away from the town he grew up in, homeless and almost broke. Haley flicked her hair from her face and smiled over at him, the first genuine one in weeks, and threw a sock at him. There were things he would do for her, he thought. If he followed his heart, things would work out.

After a couple of weeks in Hartford, Haley had managed to land a job in the supermarket as a checkout girl 3 blocks away from the motel she and Nathan were staying in. It was finally the break they needed, Haley thought as she picked up her uniform from the manager. Nathan would find a job soon and they could save up enough money for a deposit on an apartment. So far, Nathan hadn't had any luck finding a job, even though he'd been scouring the classifieds and streets every day for weeks. Joanna had helped them out as much as she could, but she was a single mother with three children and could only offer so much of her time and food.

"So you start Monday at 7am. Your breaks will be posted on the staff board each day and your shift ends at 7pm." The manager, Mr Mooney, informed her enthusiastically. "Full training will be provided, so don't worry, you won't be thrown in at the deep end." Mr Mooney laughed as if this was the funniest thing he'd said all day and Haley noticed that his moustache twitched wildly and she suppressed to urge to laugh. "You'll start on 6 dollars an hour, the basic pay for a check out girl. However, here at Molly's Mart, there are great opportunities for promotion." The moustache smiled at her. "In a year, if you do a good job, Ms James, you could be considered for the position of check out supervisor, and from there, other supervisory roles will arise and in no time at all, you could make it all the way to store management." He smiled kindly at her as he led her through the store and to the front doors. "A couple of years and you could be standing where I'm standing, Ms James. The whole world at your feet and a great deal of experience to further your career, whatever that may be. How does that sound?"

"Um…that's great, Mr Mooney. I really appreciate it, thank you so much." Haley practically ran out the door, as far away from that moustache as she could.

"Welcome to the Molly's Mart team!" he cheerfully called after her.

Back at the motel, Nathan was lying face down on the bed reading a sports magazine and listening to his MP3 player when Haley entered. She hung up her uniform in their narrow closet, making sure there were no wrinkles.

"Joanna called my cell. She couldn't reach yours." Nathan informed her, not bothering to take out his earphones. "Her ex-husband has the kids tonight and she wanted to invite us to dinner."

"Excellent, I can tell her about my new job. Did you have any luck today?" Haley asked gently. Nathan had become a bit sensitive to the fact that he hadn't been hired by anybody yet. He just shook his head no and continued to read his magazine. "Our luck is changing, Nate. I can feel it. Soon as we get back on our feet we can get our GED's and then start looking into taking night classes." Haley plonked herself down onto the bed beside her boyfriend and stroked the back of his neck. Leaning down, she draped herself across his back and read the magazine over his shoulder.

Nathan smiled fondly at her and pulled the earphones from his ears. He craned his neck to kiss her cheek and winked. "We'll get there. Eventually. We should call home tonight. Lucas, Peyton and Karen will worry if they don't hear from us."

"Sure, we'll call them when we get back from Joanna's." Haley jumped up and began to tidy their tiny room, singing her favourite song by The Fratellis as she went along. Nathan smiled contentedly as he watched her. Getting out of Tree Hill had been a good idea; the change in Haley had been instantaneous. As long as Nathan had known her, there had always been an air of sadness around her, but since leaving Tree Hill, it had lifted slightly. She still had her dark days, usually when worrying about her father or their future, but on the whole, she had become more positive and cheerful.

Hartford was definitely a good place for them to settle down. It was a nice, pleasant city with good opportunities though Nathan was just having a hard time finding them. He spent most of his days worrying about money and though he had cleared out his savings account , they were dangerously low on funds. They could only afford another week in the motel so it was a god send that Haley got the job. He's been thinking about home a lot this week; his mother had called several times since they left, begging him to come home, but there had been no call from his father, which, he was embarrassed to admit, bothered more than he'd thought. Deb had said he was extremely angry and had thrown himself into his work, which was a typical Dan Scott reaction. Still, he felt bad that his mom had to bear the brunt of his Dan's fury. Dan wasn't a violent man, but he sure as hell held a grudge and was the worst antagonist Nathan knew. He would probably put pressure on Lucas to reveal Nathan's whereabouts, but he had sworn it would go no further than him, Karen, Keith and Peyton.

Throwing the magazine on to the floor - earning a scowl from Haley who was trying to clear up - Nathan picked up the newspaper again to check out the job pages. He circled a few more ads that sounded interesting and tossing the paper aside again, he turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe it, but he actually missed Tree Hill. Not so much the place as the people he was close to and the little things that were a part of his routine. He missed hanging out with Peyton while working on her beat up rust bucket of a car as she chatted endlessly about a hot new band or hot new guy. Usually, she was bitching about one of her brothers new girlfriends. He missed playing basketball with Lucas down at the Rivercourt and his mouth watered every time he even thought about Karen's pot roast. He didn't regret leaving with Haley; he's move to Calcutta with her if she asked him. He just kind of wished he could have packed up his family and brought them with him.

"Are you ready to go?" Haley's voice interrupted his thoughts and Nathan jolted when he realised she was speaking to him. He looked at the prehistoric clock on the wall and was surprised at how much time had passed. He quickly got changed and freshened up and they drove over to Joanna's place.

Joanna had done alright for herself since her wild days at NYU with Carrie James. After law school , she passed the bar first time and set up her own firm in Hartford with her then husband. As successful and wealthy as she was, Joanna and her three boys lived in a modest 4 bedroom house in a quiet cul de sac just outside the city. Haley's jaw was on the floor every time they visited the tastefully decorated but 'lived in' house, as it was exactly the type of home she imagined her and Nathan living in one day, years from now, surrounded by lots of cute little raven haired children.

"Sweeties, sweeties, come in! It's freezing outside!" Joanna cooed when they arrived. She took their coats and hung them up on hooks beside the door, ushering them into her kitchen at the same time. There she had a bottle of wine chilling and poured herself a glass. "I know you guys are underage and I'm a lawyer, but would you like a glass of wine? It's Chilean." she offered, holding two Waterford Crystal wine glasses. Both politely declined the wine, opting for water instead.

"Goodness, when I was your age I'd have half the bottle empty already." Joanna laughed as she filled two glasses with water and ice.

"We're not big drinkers." Nathan answered quietly.

"Well, dinner will be here soon. As I've said before, I'm a hopeless cook, so I ordered a little bit of everything. Let's go get comfortable!"

"Great! I love everything." Haley laughed and chatted away happily as they made their way to the dining room. Even when the food arrived, she and Joanna did more talking than eating and Nathan only half paid attention as he focussed on the feast before him.

"Haley, I can't tell you enough how good it is to see you." Joanna reached over and pushed a stray lock of hair behind Haley's ear. "Look at you, all grown up."

"You say that every time I come over." Haley smiled shyly.

Joanna's face turned serious and she shifted a little uncomfortably. "Your mom called me the other day. She calls every few months to catch up."

Haley stayed quiet but it was obvious she was starting to shut down. Nathan ate a little slower, his gaze shifting between the two women. In all the time he'd known Haley, he'd never heard anyone bring up the subject of her mother. Haley only spoke of her with bitter contempt.

"I couldn't lie to her." Joanna continued. "I told her you were here in Hartford and what had happened with Karl."

"What did she say?" Haley voice was free of any emotion.

"She was a little surprised that you came to me, I guess. I think she half expected you would go looking for her. I told her she needed to be a little more realistic in her expectations. She wanted to know all about you." Joanna reached for Haley's hand but she pulled away and backed away from the table.

"I hope you told her where she can stick her concern." Haley snapped.

"She wants to help you." Joanna looked to Nathan for support, but he was with Haley on this one. "She's in California but she wants to send you money to help with an apartment. Maybe even see you."

"Joanna! Why are you saying this to me?" Haley's voice was getting higher now, unable to control her anger now. Nathan could see her trembling. "I have no interest in hearing anything about that woman or what she wants to offer me. She's 3 years too late for that and you can tell her she's dead to me!" Haley threw her napkin onto the table and marched out of the dining room.

"Maybe you shouldn't have told Carrie that Haley was here at all." Nathan suggested softly as he began to rise.

"I had to Nathan. I've know Carrie for 25 years, I couldn't keep something like that from her. I've always given her information about Haley."

"Yet you've never given Haley information about her?".

"I've tried. Haley never wanted to hear it, especially when she was living with Karl. I thought now that she was free of him, she might want to start building bridges with her mom." Nathan stayed silent and Joanna continued. "Carrie is in L.A. She gave up teaching after the whole Brad Padalecki scandal and she's working for a talent agency. She's doing really well but she misses her daughter."

"Is she still with Brad?"

"God no! That ended a few months after they got to L.A. He started college and I guess the novelty of having a toy boy wore off. She is married though. A guy called Andy from New Zealand; he has his own company, he treats her really well. The guy's a sweetheart."

"Good for her. Does he know she abandoned her daughter?" Nathan asked a little bit scornfully. He didn't know the woman, but he felt very defensive on behalf of Haley.

"Yes, he knows. Carrie told him everything and he wants to help too. Maybe you could talk to Haley and try to convince her to see Carrie? She misses her like crazy and really wants to see her. I think it would be good for Haley too." Joanna suggested cautiously.

Nathan began to shy away from the table. "Thank you for the meal, Joanna, and for all your help these past few weeks. Haley and I appreciate it." He picked up his and Haley's coats at the door and prepared to leave. Haley had left the house and he needed to catch up to her. "She won't see Carrie and I can't say that I blame her. Her mother abandoned the only child she had left. She left her to take care of a bitter, violent drunk who berated her mercilessly and beat her to a pulp and now Haley has lost everything, including the chance at a secure and stable future. She's spent the last 3 years putting everyone else before herself, cooking and cleaning up after an incoherent wreck of a man. You can tell Carrie and her new hubby this from me: Haley doesn't need her help or her money. It's Haley's turn to be taken care of and I'm going to be the one to do that now."

Joanna stood there speechless but nodded her understanding. After Nathan left to go after Haley, she called up Carrie and relayed Nathan's message, word for word.

A/N Well another chapter done! Please review! Keep me going...


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 - 6 MONTHS LATER

Exhausted and emotional, Haley threw her purse onto the wobbly, chipped coffee table as she entered her Nathan's small apartment. She had just finished a 12 hour shift and 15 minute bus journey and was starving so her first stop was the refrigerator. It was almost 7.30, Nathan would be home soon so she fixed them both a sandwich with the leftover turkey from yesterdays dinner and relaxed in front of the TV that they had bought last week.

After months of struggling, they were finally starting to make some progress in the whole 'independent living' thing. Nathan had eventually had a stroke of luck and had landed a job in an auto shop over on the east side as an apprentice mechanic. All those years of helping his uncle Keith had paid off, and although he wasn't getting paid much more than Haley, they beginning to cope with the bills and rent.

On the coffee table, Haley's purse beeped and vibrated and she reached in and pulled out her cell phone. It was a text message from Lucas.

'HEY HALEY BOP - JUST GOT SETTLED INTO DORMS - ROOMMATE A LITTLE CRAZY, NOT ALWAYS BAD, RIGHT? HEADING TO PARTY WITH PEYT, CALL YOU LATER!'

Haley tittered to herself at the thought of Lucas at a college party that she knew Peyton would be dragging him to. She was overjoyed when Lucas and Peyton both got accepted to NYU. It brought them closer to her and Nathan and they couldn't have been happier. She sent a quick reply;

'BEHAVE YOURSELF, YOUNG SCOTT! MISS YOU HEAPS, WANT DETAILS OF COLLEGE LIFE! LUV YA!'

As the message sent, Nathan arrived home . "Hey." he sighed wearily as he slumped into the armchair. Both were too tired to greet each other properly.

"How was your day?" Haley asked routinely

"Same. Busy. You?"

"Usual. I got a text from Lucas, he moved into the dorms today. He and Peyton are going to a partying." she rolled her eyes.

Nathan laughed lightly at the image. The party was definitely Peyton's idea, she had told him all about it during their hour long conversation last night. She had moved to her dorm a couple of days before to get the 'feel' of New York and so far she was loving it and the parties every night.

"You think Peyt is going to corrupt your baby Lucas?" Nathan joked.

"She corrupted him the day she met him!" she laughed. "Could you imagine living in New York? It would be so amazing. Maybe we should've moved there, we'd be nearer to them." Haley mused.

"Cost of living is way too high, we'd have to take second, even third jobs, just to get by. We're better off here, just a train ride away." Nathan surprised himself with how sensible he was getting. This time 2 years ago, he was the stupidest kid he knew. Throwing wild parties at his parents beach house, getting drunk, flunking out of school and not caring and having sex with cheerleaders. The new him was kind of surreal, working 55 hours a week, paying rent and utility bills, budgeting to buy things that he now considered luxuries - a television, dvd player even the armchair he was sitting on had involved a strategic financial plan. He and Haley finally had to cave in and accept help from Karen and Keith so that they could secure the apartment as they were six weeks in Hartford before Nathan had found the job at Mikey's Auto Repairs. It had been a tough few months but things were looking brighter, especially now that Lucas and Peyton would be visiting at the weekend.

Nathan flicked the channel on the television to a sports show reviewing the highlights of a basketball game. Haley groaned and buried her head into a cushion. "I thought I'd escaped basketball!" she squealed and threw the cushion at him.

The party was in full swing by the time Lucas and Peyton arrived. Peyton grimaced as Justin Timberlake belted out 'My Love' through the giant speakers located all over the house, but rolled her eyes and laughed when Lucas bopped his head in perfect rhythm to the tune. "What? I'm not allowed to enjoy the music?" he asked, a little miffed. Peyton just shook her head and moved further into the house, spotting the keg and pouring herself and Lucas a drink.

"I'm going to go and find my date…" Peyton called over her shoulder as she walked away and ventured even further into the abyss.

"Date? You have a date? I don't have a date…I didn't know we could bring dates…" Lucas shrugged when he got no reply so he browsed around the room, feeling a little uncomfortable that the only person he knew in this entire city had just abandoned him in a house full of strangers. He awkwardly sipped his beer but almost spilled it all over him when he heard a voice from behind.

"Lucas Scott! Oh my god!"

Lucas whirled around at the sound of his name and his jaw dropped when he saw the brunette bombshell that was Brooke Davis standing before him.

"Brooke?" he spluttered, the shock obvious in his voice.

"I can't believe you're here! Are you going to NYU?" she asked, surprised but delighted to see a familiar face. A hot familiar face. Even though she hadn't gotten to know him back in Tree Hill, Brooke now saw an opportunity to do what she never had the chance to do back home.

"Uh…yeah I moved here today, actually. You're going here too? I thought I'd get the chance to talk to you over the summer…"

"I moved here right after graduation." she explained. "My parents own an apartment in Manhattan so I'm living there. I can't believe you're here, I guess God does like me after all." Brooke laughed and her dimples sent a shiver down Lucas's spine. He couldn't believe that he was talking to Brooke Davis. She'd been his dream girl as long as he could remember but he'd always been too shy to do anything about it, not to mention that Brooke always seemed to have a boyfriend. He thought he'd missed his chance with her completely but now here she was. Unless…

"Are you here with your boyfriend? Felix wasn't it?" Lucas enquired as casually as he could.

"No, um… Felix and I broke up, he's in Florida." she answered coolly. "Besides, I was only with him because the guy I really liked never asked me out."

"Who'd be crazy enough not to ask you out?" Lucas snorted, but flushed when she raised her eyebrow at him and gave him a cheeky grin. "I…I guess I always thought you'd say no. I mean, you're Brooke Davis."

"And you're Lucas Scott, so what? What do names have to do with anything?" she did that eyebrow thing again and Lucas thought he was going to faint. She moved closer to him and before he realised what was happening, they were in the middle of the room, dancing to a song he didn't recognise but had just become his favourite. "So, Lucas Scott. Now that we're away from the shallow halls of Tree Hill High, are you ever going to ask me out?"

Lucas gulped and pinched his hand which was currently resting on Brooke's hip. He pulled her close and decided to just go in for the kill. It was now or never and he'd been wanting to do it since he was 12 years old; he kissed her. Softly at first, but when she responded he pressed a little harder. It was everything he had fantasised it would be, no, it was even better.

After a couple of hours, Peyton happened upon them getting to know each other a little too well for a public audience on a couch in the main room.

"Ahem." she coughed as she stood over them, a little disgusted at seeing her best friend with his tongue down some random girls throat. When they broke apart, she saw just who the 'random' girl was.

"Oh. Hi Brooke" Peyton nodded at the brunette, not really surprised that at all the parties, in all the cities, Lucas would still find Brooke Davis. It was just his kind of luck. She turned her attention back to Lucas. "I'm gonna go back to the dorms, I'm wiped. You need a ride?"

Lucas unwrapped himself from Brooke and stood, smoothing his shirt, a bashful look on his face. He looked back at Brooke with a dopey grin and she winked at him, flicked her hair, looking at him expectantly.

"If you wanna stay…" Peyton sensed the sex vibe in the air and didn't want to get in the way.

"No it's ok, I better go."

At that, a tall wiry guy came up behind Peyton and put his arm around her and kissed her. "You ready?" he asked, smiling at both Lucas and Brooke. "Hi, I'm Jake." he said offering his hand to Lucas.

"I'm Lucas." he replied, his demeanour becoming guarded and protective of his friend. He looked at Peyton in confusion.

"Jake is my date." she explained. "We met a few days ago when I got lost on the subway." she smiled up at him and leaned closer. "He rescued me."

Lucas rolled his eyes. Peyton wouldn't be Peyton if she didn't meet a guy on her first day in New York. Brooke stood now, not quite sure if she was welcome at this little introduction party, but making her presence known. "And I'm Brooke Davis." she announced, shaking Jakes hand. She turned to Lucas, a little peeved that he was about to ditch her for the tomboy and Jake the hottie. "Are you leaving?" she asked him, one hand on her hip, the other seductively pulling at the waistband of his jeans.

Lucas leaned in closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I have to go, but I want to see you again." Brooke pouted at him, her eyes mercilessly torturing him so that he found it impossible to pull away. "I don't want this to end up a one night stand, Brooke. You're too special for that." he whispered into her ear. Brooke rolled her eyes at him, convinced she was getting the brush off.

"Ok, Lucas. See you around." she began to turn but Lucas grabbed her and pulled her into an intense kiss. Brooke couldn't hear anything but the sound of her heart beating furiously. Oh and the song playing in the distant background. That's right, Damien Rice's haunting voice was perfecting the moment. Emptiness filled her when he pulled away, leaving her breathless and panting. She clung onto his shirt, her eyes wide and staring into his.

"Nothing's ever going to be the same again." he whispered and then disappeared into the crowd, following Peyton and Jake. Brooke stood there staring at the space he had filled, and after a few seconds she blinked and realised what had just happened. She looked around self-consciously but smiled to herself as she put on her coat. If she'd known Lucas could kiss like that, she would've done it years ago.

As she walked back to her car, Brooke couldn't stop smiling. Lucas was right, nothing was going to be the same again. Right now, she didn't think anything could get better than that moment, and if that was the way it was going to continue, then bring it on.

A/N Sorry the chapter is so short, I just wanted to introduce the couplings. This is mainly going to be a Naley fic but the others will be put in their two cents as well!


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry for taking so long with the updates, be warned; I'm a very slow updater!

Friday arrived and Haley couldn't contain her excitement about seeing Lucas and Peyton this weekend. It had been a long week coming and she was exhausted with all the overtime she had put in to earn a little extra cash for the weekend ahead. She had managed to talk Mr Mooney into giving her the weekend off and Nathan had done the same. At that moment, they were both cleaning the apartment and making it look presentable for their guests who were due to arrive any minute. Haley's favourite Motown CD was booming from their circa-1998 CD player.

_"I'm a love man… that's what they call me I'm a love man!"_ Otis Redding's voice couldn't be heard over Haley's own. _"Make love to ya in the morning, make love to ya at night, make love to ya when ya think about it, wanna teach you everything cos cos cos cos I'm a love man!"_ Nathan laughed as he watched his girlfriend shake her hips dirty dancing style while she vacuumed the living room. He himself was finishing the last of the huge pile of dirty dishes that he'd been promising to clean all week. He too had been putting in a lot of overtime, today being the first day in weeks that he had spent more than 10 minutes with Haley before falling asleep.

A sharp rap at the door made them both jump. Haley silenced the vacuum cleaner and bounced up and down, Otis's voice drowning out her squeals. She bounded towards the door while Nathan switched off the music and instantly regretted it as Haley's high pitched squeal was joined by Peyton's. He turned in time to see Lucas ducking past them with his fingers in his ears and his face contorted in pain.

"Aaagh! Dogs everywhere are hearing that call!" he announced as he made his way over to Nathan and hugged while back slapping each other.

"Welcome" Nathan gestured to his surroundings "to our humble love nest."

"Sweet." Lucas whistled, looking around him, noticing the worn furniture and brand new TV and DVD player on the stand behind him. Haley and Peyton finally found their way into the living room and Peyton pulled Nathan into a long embrace, talking with their eyes the way only the closest of friends can. Haley and Lucas shared their own moment but soon the four were talking animatedly, sharing their news and catching up.

"Word on the street is you met someone Pey Pey…" Haley teased, using Nathan's childhood nickname for his best friend.

Peyton blushed and slapped Lucas's knee, glaring at her supposed confidante. "Word on the street being a broody blonde who can't keep his mouth shut?" she asked pointedly.

"You can't hide anything from us, babe." Nathan proclaimed, a small smile playing on his lips. "Who is he? Could I take him?" he flexed his biceps and puffed out his chest. The last boyfriend Peyton had told them about was a jealous, possessive jerk who Nathan had to rough up a little before he finally took the hint and took a hike.

"He's a sweetheart, and no, you couldn't take him. He makes you look like Pee Wee Herman, puny boy." The group laughed and Nathan threw her a look; she knew full well that the best way to insult Nathan was to attack his looks. Not that he was vain or anything, he just liked being told how good looking he was. Not vain at all. "His name is Jake, he's 21 and he's an English major. We met at a party my first night in New York; he's a gem." Peyton was gushing now and her friends looked at her in amusement. They had never ever seen Peyton gush over a guy before, never seen her even give guys very much attention unless she wanted something. Peyton was the love 'em and leave 'em type but there was never much lovin' on her part.

"But so what? Juicier word on the street is that Lucas bumped into an old 'friend' and has spent every night this week over at her place…" Peyton quickly changed the subject and focussed on Lucas, his eyes widening at the attention. All eyes were on him and his friends 'ooohed' playfully. He shot Peyton a look that said _'I'm gonna kill you'_ before attempting to explain.

"Who's the chick, Luke? You finally get rid of the big 'V'?" Nathan chuckled "And I thought you were always gonna save it for everybody's favourite cheerleader…"

"He did!" Peyton yelled.

"No way!" Haley cried at the same time that Nathan asked "Are you serious?"

Lucas shifted awkwardly on the couch, unable to get a word in as Peyton filled them in on his late night antics. He knew he should never have told her anything.

"Ok, ok Peyt. I think I have it from here." He finally managed to cut in. Haley looked at him eagerly, awaiting more information while Nathan just sat across from him looking stunned. "You're making it sound sleazy, Peyton, like we can't control ourselves." Lucas whined. "It's not like that at all, we've been hanging out, but no sex yet. My rule."

"Why the hell not? She's hot!" Nathan cut in but made a face when he received a slap on the forearm from Haley who was sitting on his lap.

"It's so much more than that with Brooke. She's unbelievable, totally amazing. Did you know that she designs all her own clothes? That's what she's studying in New York. Fashion. She's totally original. She's _my_ gem." he scowled at Peyton but she just stuck out her tongue at him in response.

"Whereas Jake and I have been at it like rabbits! He can't get enough of me!" Peyton laughed when Nathan and Lucas wrinkled their noses in disgust and protested that they didn't need that much information.

At that, the two boys declared that they were going out to get the food and dvd's.

"Don't get a chick flick!" Peyton shouted after them as she pulled the cap off her beer bottle with her teeth and put her feet up on the coffee table, ignoring Haley's annoyed glare.

"So Hales…now Nathan's gone, tell me the real deal. How are you guys doing? How's life really treating you?" Peyton asked seriously, taking her feet down and fidgeting with the bottle in her hands. She wasn't used to 'girl' talk, but with Haley she always tries to make an effort.

Haley sighed and leaned back on the couch next to her best girl friend. "It's tough. A lot tougher than I thought it would be." Her smile was gentle, her voice meek, which weren't words to describe Haley. "Nathan and I are working so much that we hardly see each other, everything costs so damn much that we're struggling to make ends meet and it just seems like this is going to be it for the rest of our lives." Haley took in a deep breath and paused, waiting for Peyton to say a few comforting words but the blonde stayed silent. "I just wish things would get easier, you know? I wish so many things…"

"You always knew it was going to be a struggle. Leaving school, leaving Tree Hill. Maybe it wasn't your best option." Peyton suggested gently.

"I couldn't stay there, Peyton." Haley said defensively, a little hurt that Peyton didn't seem to understand her reasons for leaving.

"I understand, Hales -"

"No you don't Peyton. You lost your mom to cancer and your dad worships you and your brothers. You have no idea what it's like to be completely abandoned or what it was like for me in that town or how much I needed to be away from there." Haley snapped but instantly regretted it. She knew Peyton was only trying to help and said so when she apologised. "Do you hate me for taking Nathan away?" Haley asked, her voice low.

Peyton turned to face her and caught Haley's fidgeting hand in her own. "Of course I don't hate you. Do I miss him? Yeah, like you wouldn't believe. I miss you too and I wish things could've been different and we were all going to college together but this is how it is and we all have to accept it."

Haley leaned her head back against the couch and sighed deeply. "I wish things were different too. But it's getting more complicated, Peyton." Haley's head lolled to one side lazily and she stared at Peyton sadly. "I'm late."

Lucas and Nathan stood side by side analysing the selection of DVD's on the shelves in front of them.

"War movie?" Lucas suggested but Nathan shook his head.

"Haley hates movies with blood. They freak her out."

"That rules out horror and most thrillers. What about a comedy? Meet The Parents?"

"Ben Stiller freaks me out. His eyes…he has crazy eyes." Nathan made a face and shuddered. Lucas just rolled his eyes and reached for another box.

"Superman Returns?"

"Guys in tights freak us both out" he grimaced. "It's unnatural, right? Your package all bunched up and practically on display for the whole world to see. Unnatural."

"Is there anything that doesn't freak you out?" Lucas sighed, exasperated. They had been in the video store for almost 20 minutes and Nathan had knocked back every one of Lucas's suggestions.

"How about Lord Of The Rings?" Nathan said it so casual and innocent that Lucas purposely knocked him forward into a cardboard cutout of Will Ferrell.

"Dude no! You've made me watch those movies a hundred times already! Peyton and Haley too. Besides, Gollum freaks _me _out. He terrified the shit out of me in that last movie." It was Lucas's turn to shudder.

"Who'd win in a fight; Legolas or Aragorn?" Nathan continued on down the aisle, Lucas trailing behind.

"Legolas - he's got all that elf mojo going on."

"Bullshit! Aragorn would kick his ass. Ok, Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller?"

"Stiller would psyche Wilson out with his crazy eyes…" Lucas sniggered when Nathan glared at him. A thought hit him and his eyes widened. "Ultimate Fight!" Lucas announced proudly "Superman or Spiderman?"

"Dude, too much spandex! Really don't want to fill my head with those images…damn it Lucas, too late! You read too many comics when you were a kid." Nathan sauntered on down the aisle, discarding dvd boxes that didn't grab his attention. "So… you and Brooke… never saw that one coming." Nathan's tone was sarcastic but Lucas knew his brother well enough to know he was fishing for information.

Lucas threw a knowing smile at his brother and thought a moment before he replied. "You remember when you first met Haley?" he asked.

"Yeah, I stole her lunch in 2nd grade. Or so she says…"

"You did. It was the first day back at school and you teased her about her Transformer sneakers." Lucas chuckled at the memory, until Nathan had just mentioned it, he had completely forgotten about those Transformer sneakers. He remembered bugging his mom for weeks to get him a pair just like them.

"If I don't remember it, I never did it." Nathan refuted.

"What I meant was, do you remember when you _really _noticed Haley?" Lucas brought the subject back on track.

"Sure, it was the end of Junior year and I got sent to the Tutor Centre because my grades were complete crap. Why?"

"You remember what she was wearing? What she smelled like? Any of that?"

Nathan squinted his eyes and tried to picture Haley on the day in question. "I remember what her hair was like, and she was wearing that little plastic charm bracelet that Aaron gave her but she always wears that anyway." Nathan looked at Lucas in amusement "Why are you asking me this?"

Lucas smiled wistfully and explained. "The first day I ever laid eyes on Brooke was July 16th 1997." He paused, waited for Nathan to snort and roll his eyes. "She came into the café with her dad. She was holding his hand and she was wearing blue jean cut offs and a pink t-shirt with Wonder Woman on the front. I was only 9 years old but I couldn't take my eyes off her. She smiled at me and I saw those dimples for the first time and I was in love." He stopped for a moment and Nathan thought he'd completely lost his train of thought thinking about Brooke Davis. "My point is," he continued "I've been waiting nearly 10 years for this chance. I was always too shy in high school and she never even noticed me until I joined the basketball team. When I saw her at the party, I just knew."

"Knew what?" Nathan asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Knew that it _was _meant to be. Fate keeps bringing her to me."

Nathan rolled his eyes again but didn't shoot down Lucas's theory. He was probably right - it was a very strange coincidence that Brooke showed up at the same party as Lucas, hundreds of miles from their home town. He reached for another DVD, examined the blurb and tossed it to Lucas. "Haley's favourite."

Lucas looked at the title and groaned. He'd lost count of the amount of times he had to endure 'Love, Actually'. Nathan tossed him another dvd. "Peyton's favourite. They can fight it out." Lucas grinned, 'Almost Famous' was one if his favourites too but it would be fun watching Haley and Peyton bicker and pout over which one to watch.

Both boys sauntered up to the counter while Nathan fumbled around his jeans looking for his membership card.

"Haley seems pretty happy here." Lucas scratched his ear and ran his hand through his hair.

"It's ok, I guess. She's happy to see you guys, though. She has friends from work but she misses you." Lucas paid, insisted on it in fact, and they left the video store.

Walking towards the car, Lucas took a wad of cash from his wallet and handed it to his brother. "It's from my mom and Keith." he told him.

Nathan shook his head, holding up his hands and backing away. "No way, man" he said, refusing to take the money.

"Nate, they want you to have it. They said to consider it a housewarming present or an early Christmas gift. Please take it."

"We're doing fine, Luke. We don't need it." Nathan argued but Lucas just stared at him, his expression saying '_You expect me to believe that?' _Nathan sighed and scratched his forehead. Biting his lip, he took the money from his brother. "I'll save it for emergencies. You can tell your mom that we're gonna pay back every penny. Tell her thanks." he smiled gratefully and put the money into his own wallet.

"What do you mean, you're late?" Peyton asked slowly but already knowing the answer. She narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Please tell me you're not…"

"I don't know! I bought a test but I haven't done it yet." Haley scrunched up her face and buried it in her hands. "I'm scared" she said, her words muffled.

"You have to do it. Do it now, get it over with. You're probably late because of stress or something." Peyton reasoned, trying to convince herself as much as Haley. "You've been under a lot of pressure these past few months. It could be nothing."

"Oh god, I hope so." Haley chewed her lip and pulled a cushion to her chest. "I can't be pregnant, Peyton, I just can't. God, I'm such an idiot!" she punched the cushion in her hands and screamed in frustration.

"Even if you are, there's options…" Peyton softly suggested.

"No! Absolutely not! I couldn't do that." Haley's tone was resolute. Even if she was pregnant, there was no way she could not have it. It just wasn't an option to her. "I'd be a good mother, Peyton. A damn sight better than my own. If I'm pregnant, then I'm pregnant. Oh god, I can't do this!"

Haley's confusion was giving Peyton a headache. She folded her arms across her chest and huffed, her temper rising. "Well go pee on the damn stick and we'll find out."

A few minutes later, both girls were sitting against the bathroom door, awaiting the results of the pregnancy test.

"You're timing couldn't be worse, Hales." Peyton stated.

"Stop acting like I did this by myself, _Peyt._" Haley snapped.

"I'm just saying; you guys are so not ready for a kid. You're 18 for Christ's sake!"

"You think I don't know that? Nobody more than me, Peyton, is praying that that little stick in there comes out negative."

"He's already sacrificed so much…" Peyton mumbled

Haley stood suddenly and turned to face Peyton. "Don't do that! Don't lay the guilt trip on me, Peyton! I know exactly what Nathan sacrificed for me, but I've made sacrifices too. I've done it my whole damn life! If I'm pregnant, then its something Nathan and I will have to deal with, ok?"

Peyton clenched her jaw and stared at Haley standing over her. "Fine." she grumbled. The stopwatch on Peyton's cell phone beeped and both girls looked at each other in alarm. The three minutes were up, it was time to find out Haley's fate. Haley opened the bathroom door as Peyton got to her feet and followed her. Reaching for the little white stick, Haley closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.

"What's going on?" Nathan's voice came from behind them, standing at the doorway, startling them both and causing Haley to drop the test onto the floor. Nathan's eyes followed it and Lucas peered over his shoulder. Nathan's eyes widened as he realised what he'd just interrupted. Confusion set in as he look questioningly at both girls, his eyes searching for the guilty party and settling on his girlfriend.

Haley fought back a sob as she reached down to pick up the stick. She looked at the little screen and back at the instructions in her other hand, three pairs of eyes on her. "It's pink" she sighed painfully. "Pink is positive." Haley closed her eyes so she couldn't see the crestfallen looks on her friends faces and Nathan bolting out of the room and Peyton chasing after him.

So what do you think? Please review and let me know! I wanted to create a little tension between Peyton and Haley because I want them both to be a little territorial when it comes to Nathan. You'll find out in future chapters... lol


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

A/N; Thanks again for all the reviews! I got quite a reaction to Peyton in the last chapter, hopefully you guys see her in a better light in this one!

Peyton caught up to Nathan as he bounded down the stairs of the apartment block. She reached out and grabbed his shirt and used her own downwards momentum to pin him against the wall.

"Where are you going?" she demanded. Nathan was breathing hard, his eyes panicked.

"This isn't happening…" he shook his head vehemently. "What the hell just happened there? We just went out to get food and dvd's!"

"Your girlfriend is pregnant, that's what just happened! Why the hell are you running out on her?" Peyton poked his shoulder, her fingernails sharp.

Nathan shook his head, unable to process what Peyton was saying to him. "I'm not, I mean I won't. We were careful, how can this be happening?"

"It is happening, babe. It's gonna be ok. Let's just go back inside and we can all figure this out together. Take a deep breath." Peyton looked worried as Nathan looked as if he was about to pass out and the last thing she needed right now was to have to drag him back up the stairs, or worse, drive him to the hospital for smacking his head on the concrete floor.

Slowly Nathan turned and made his way back up the steps. When he reached the door of his apartment, he turned to Peyton who was following close behind him. "What am I going to do, Peyt? I don't know if I can do this…" Nathan turned and stared at the closed door. He put his hand around the handle and rested his head against the scratched door.

"You can do it, Nate. I know you better than anybody, and I know you're not Dan. You can be father Nathan and you can be a good one." Peyton reached out and massaged his shoulders "I know the timing sucks, but you always pick the worst time to do things." she chuckled. "You love Haley and you guys can make this work. Everything happens for a reason, right?" she reminded him of the mantra she always used whenever one of them had a crappy day or he had another huge fight with his dad.

Nathan nodded solemnly and opened the door, slowly entering the apartment. He could hear Haley crying in the bathroom and his heart broke. Lucas's calming voice was trying to soothe her but it didn't seem to be working. She looked up when he came into the bathroom, her eyes red and raw from crying. Lucas stood and left the bathroom, patting Nathan on the shoulder as he left.

Haley reached for his hand and he let her pull him to the floor. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like that." She wept, unable to control the flow of tears. She'd been stressing over this for over a week and now her fears were confirmed. Why did this have to happen to her?

"It's not your fault. I did this too." Nathan attempted a smile. "It's ok, we'll be ok. We'll see a doctor, make sure the test is right and we'll look at our options." Haley looked up at him, saw the strain in his face and squeezed his hand.

"What do you mean by 'options'?" she questioned, silently praying he wouldn't mean what Peyton had meant.

"You know what I mean, Hales." Nathan refused to look at her choosing instead to stare at the wall ahead of him. Haley shook free from his grasp and stood up, sweeping her hair away from her wet face.

"No" she glared down at her boyfriend who still refused to meet her eyes. "I will NOT have an abortion., Nathan. I will not kill my baby." She folded her arms across her chest, feeling very protective of the thing that 10 minutes ago she was dreading. She dared him to disagree with her as he stood slowly and finally looked at her.

"Fine" was all he said. He knew well enough that there was no point arguing with her about this, he very rarely won an argument with Haley James, sure hadn't she learned from the best? Even if he tried to reason with her and defend his opinions, she had already made up her mind.

She reached out for him again and pulled him into a tight hug. "I didn't want this to happen, Nathan but it has so I'm going to make the best of it." Haley looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "Are you with me on this?"

Nathan didn't need to think about it "Of course I am. We'll get through this." Haley smiled at him, her eyes shining.

"We're going to have a baby, Nathan. A little person who belongs to us, that _we _made." She leaned her head against his chest and sighed. "It'll be ok, I promise." Holding him tighter, she didn't see the aggrieved look her boyfriend was trying his best to hide.

Lucas was lost in his own little world when Peyton nudged him in the ribs. They were in her car, taking a little drive so that Nathan and Haley could have a little space to talk things over.

"What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Lucas tried to keep the alarm from his voice. "I think that this is a very complicated situation." He noticed Peyton roll her eyes "What am I supposed to think? My brother and best friend are knocked up and they're only 18, work minimum wage jobs and barely get by. They can hardly even take care of themselves, and now they have to take care of a baby." Lucas's voice rose but Peyton stayed silent. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

"No need to apologise, I'm mad too." She shrugged. "I can't believe they'd be so reckless."

"Reckless or not, it's done. We have to be there for them." Lucas stated.

"Yeah we do. Oh my god, what's your mom gonna say? What's Dan and Deb gonna say?"

"Mom will be disappointed, but she'll understand. She's been there herself; she knows how hard it is. As for Dan and Deb, if Nathan wants to tell them, that's up to him."

"They probably won't even care; Dan has practically disowned Nathan as it is. And Deb just goes along with whatever he says." Peyton shook her head in dismay. Some parents just didn't know how lucky they were.

"Maybe we should head back, I don't think Nathan's taking it too well."

"Would you?" Peyton raised her eyebrow.

"Don't blame her Peyton." Lucas warned. "And don't pretend the sun shines out of Nathan's ass."

"I don't know why I keep getting shit from everyone for defending Nathan. He's my best friend, it's my job to protect him. He's done it for me for as long as I can remember. I'm not taking sides in this, Lucas, I just think they need to seriously think about this and make the right choice because this is something that is going to affect the rest of their lives." Peyton sighed and concentrated on the road as she made a U-turn to head back to Haley and Nathan's place.

"Yes, it's going to affect _their _lives. Not yours, not mine. _Theirs._" Lucas's voice softened. "Peyton, I know you and Nathan are close, even closer than he is to Haley at times, but you have to stay out of this. He's not all yours anymore."

Peyton flinched. Lucas had obviously hit a nerve with her. He knew that Peyton got a little territorial when Haley came into Nathan's life. For years it had just been Nathan and Peyton, two best friends who rarely let anybody else in and even for Lucas it had been a struggle to penetrate the armour that both of his friends had put up. They were fiercely protective of one another, and many thought that they would end up together one day. Lucas often wondered if Peyton's feelings ran deeper than just friendship but if they did, then she would never admit to it, but sometimes, just sometimes, Lucas noticed that Peyton could get quite jealous of Haley.

"Luke, you know I love Haley to pieces, and I don't mean to sound insensitive, but can't you see this from my point of view? Nathan was on the fast track to success but love blinded him and now here he is, working to the bone and about to become a teenage dad."

"And that's Haley's fault? Damn it Peyton, Nathan is a big boy and he makes decisions for himself. He chose to give up his scholarship by all by himself. It wasn't something he had to do, but he did it anyway." Lucas was getting more and more frustrated.

"I know…" Peyton whispered. She was fighting back tears of her own now. "I care about Haley too, you know. I want what's best for them both, I don't want them to end up like their parents."

"They won't. Trust me, they will do everything not to be like them." Lucas assured her.

When they arrived back at the apartment, Haley was curled up on the couch and Nathan was in the kitchen re-heating the take out that had gone cold. Lucas sat down awkwardly as Peyton went into the kitchen to help with the food.

"We got your favourite movie" he told her "Well, we got both yours and Peyton's favourite movies."

"I don't mind what we watch." she answered quietly, offering him a warm smile.

Lucas moved nearer to her and reached over to rub Haley's hand. He smiled back at her and winked, hoping she would get his signal that he was there for her. She squeezed his hand in reply and mouthed _thank you._

Soon after, Peyton and Nathan joined them and the four claimed their seats as they distributed the thai food and beers, though Haley opted for soda. Clinking their bottles together, Nathan gave a small chuckle. "Here's to the next 18 years of diapers, sleepless nights, homework and hormonal teenagers." They all laughed, but inside they all knew there was nothing funny about what Nathan and Haley were about to go through.

A/N; Ok so another chapter done. I hope you all don't hate Peyton too much, and I know I'm making the whole situation more negative than it needs to be, but it's kind of the way this story is going. If you've heard the song by Tracy Chapman then you'll get the gist of it, but I might be convinced to do a happy ending…Review and let me know!


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"Nathan! Nathan can you hear me?" Haley yelled into her cell phone. Of all the nights Nathan had chose to go out with his buddies from work, it had to be tonight.

"Hey Haley!" Nathan's merry voice sang down the phone from across town. She could hear a chorus of 'Hey Haley's' in the background followed by loud cheering and the clink of bottles. "I love you, Hales. I don't tell you that enough, but I love you so much!" Nathan slurred but Haley cut him off.

"Nathan, I think the baby is coming!" Haley grabbed a hold of her stomach as another contraction sent pains shooting up her back. "Ow!" she yelled.

"What?" Nathan's shocked voice could be clearly heard as he found a quieter spot in the bar to hear her. "Are you sure? It isn't time yet…are you sure it isn't that Braxton Hicks thing again?" he asked referring to the two previous times they had rushed to the hospital in the last few weeks.

"No it's definitely not! This is different, more painful. Oh god, it hurts Nathan!" she breathed deeply as she'd been taught in her ante-natal classes.

"Oh shit!" On the other end of the line, Nathan was quickly sobering up. "I'll call Joanna to come get you. I can't drive, I've had too much to drink."

"Nathan, it's after midnight, I don't want to wake her; she can't leave the boys."

"I'll figure something out, ok? Just hold tight, I'll be there soon." he hung up and Haley cursed herself for assuring him that she would be fine by herself tonight and had encouraged him to go out with his friends. Her due date was only a week away but she was so sure she was going to pass it that she was completely unprepared. Her back had been aching a little more than usual today but she had just put it down to fatigue as she hadn't exactly been sleeping much over the past few weeks. Her huge stomach made it difficult to find a comfortable position.

Lifting herself from the bed, she waddled over to the closet, gasping with every step, and took out her black 'Juicy' sweatpants and one of Nathan's old Raven's hoodies. She changed as quickly as she was able to and picked up the car keys on her way out of the apartment. There was no way she was waiting around for Nathan to arrive; by the time he found a taxi to take him back from across town and then to the hospital, she could have had the baby on the kitchen floor.

On the drive over, she found a soothing radio station and practiced her breathing exercises, willing herself to stay calm and not cry. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, the prospect of actual labour itself terrified her. Haley hated pain, plain and simple, and what she was about to endure was the mother of all pain: her worst nightmare come true. She had to keep telling herself that it would all be worth it in the end.

Reaching the hospital, Haley parked the car and made her way into the admissions area. "Excuse me?" she latched onto the first nurse she could find.

"Can I help you, miss?" The nurse asked kindly.

"Um… yes. I'm in labour, I think I need to see a doctor. No, I need to see my doctor, Dr Montgomery?"

"Of course, sweetheart. My goodness, you look as if you're about to pass out. Don't be scared, hon, it's ok. Are you here alone?" The nurse searched around with her eyes before turning back to fill in the admission forms and then leading Haley to the maternity ward.

"Right now, yes, but my boyfriend will be here soon. I hope…"

"Ok hon, well I'm nurse Violet. Let's get a doctor to have a look at you. How far apart are your contractions?"

"About 40 minutes, I think. That's good right? It means it's gonna be a while before the baby comes?"

"Is this your first?" Nurse Violet looked amused as she helped Haley onto a gurney.

"Oh yeah. First and last, trust me. Is it that obvious?" she asked, a little embarrassed.

"Not at all. You're a lot calmer than most of my mothers-to-be. With first time pregnancies it's likely your labour won't be a short one. The doctor will be along shortly. You just try to relax. Is there anyone you would like me to call?" the nurse fiddled with a few wires and monitors as she spoke.

Haley started to answer but closed her mouth quickly. She had very nearly asked nurse Violet to call her mother. "No, it's ok. Nathan will be here soon." Haley smiled nervously.

Almost an hour later, Nathan arrived at the hospital dishevelled and distressed. "I went back to the apartment and you weren't there. You drove to the hospital?" he asked dubiously.

"I didn't want to wait around." Haley said simply, seeing no need for further explanation. She had changed into a gown and was reading a magazine when Nathan had entered the room looking frantic.

"I thought you were in labour!" Nathan accused.

"I am! I'm 10cm dilated."

"Oh" Nathan pulled a chair closer to Haley's bed and took her hand in his. "How're you feeling?" he asked, his voice soft and sympathetic. He smelled of freshmint; his attempt to cover up the smell of alcohol as he knew that Haley hated that smell. "I called Lucas on the way over, he's going to call Peyton and Karen."

"Good. I'm actually ok. The contractions are still quite far apart, but when I do have them, they hurt like hell." Haley made a face thinking about them and Nathan squeezed her hand harder.

"It's scary isn't it? We're going to be leaving this hospital with a baby…" For a moment, Nathan looked bewildered but he composed himself and smiled assuredly at his girlfriend. "I'm cool. I'm drunk, but I'm cool."

Six hours later Haley had only dilated a further 1cm. It was almost 7am and Lucas and Peyton had arrived with their other halves and Joanna had also dropped her boys off at her ex-husband's house and had arrived with an armful of balloons and teddies.

"They're so cute!" Brooke exclaimed when she spotted the teddies. "We didn't bring enough…" she pouted.

"I think there's a gift shop downstairs." Peyton suggested helpfully and the two girls decided to go in search of it.

The group were waiting in the corridor outside Haley's room as she was being examined by her doctor. Nathan came outside to join them, a coffee in his hands.

"Hey." he said as he hugged Joanna and accepted her gifts.

"How's mommy doing?" she asked barely containing her excitement.

"She's ok. Tired and bored mainly, but she's hanging in there. You can go in, she's been waiting for you." Nathan rubbed his tired eyes and ran a hand over his chin, realising that he needed to shave. He took a seat next to his brother and Jake.

"How're _you _holding up, man?" Lucas asked, nudging Nathan with his elbow but he just grunted, too tired to answer.

"The worst part is the waiting." Jake said knowingly. "Jenny kept us guessing for 32 hours." Nathan looked at him confused and Jake chuckled. "Peyton told you I had a kid, right? Jenny, she's three."

Nathan nodded. "Oh yeah, she told us. Sorry man, my brain isn't functioning properly right now. My hangover is kicking in and the aspirin the nurse gave me isn't working."

The three boys sat in silence until Peyton and Brooke came back, laden with gifts.

"What'd you do? Buy the whole store?" Lucas joked.

"Almost, and with your money!" Brooke chirped happily. "Haley is going to love us when she sees this stuff."

"What'd you get?" Nathan asked curiously, trying to peek inside one of the bags but Peyton slapped his hand away.

"Mind your own business daddy!" she laughed.

"We bumped into some hot surgeons in the elevator." Brooke informed them. "You guys are officially being dumped for McDreamy and McSteamy. Sorry boys!" Lucas growled playfully and pulled his girlfriend into his lap who giggled as he whispered into her ear.

"Ok, we can forget the doctors!" she laughed as she jumped back up again. "I already have a McSteamy!" she winked at Lucas and began to empty her bag. "Let's see…" she pulled out a silver picture frame and presented it to the group. "When the baby is born, we're gonna take a picture of mommy, daddy and baby Scott and it's gonna go in the frame. It'll be your first family photo." She pulled out a disposable camera "Ta daaa!"

Everyone looked to Peyton, waiting expectantly for her to share her purchases. She looked a bit sheepish as she said "I got bath salts and a card."

"I hope she likes the outfits I made for the baby." Brooke rescued Peyton from any further harassment and pulled out another bag from under her chair. She glanced at Nathan to make sure she had his full attention before taking out the clothes she'd spent weeks designing and sewing. They were mostly little jackets, sweaters, t-shirts, booties and pants in neutral colours as they didn't yet know the sex of the baby, despite Brooke begging for them to find out so she could make specific items, but Nathan and Haley insisted it be a surprise. The special piece Brooke had put together last week on a whim, just in case it was a girl. She showed Nathan a pale yellow summer dress with a frill skirt and an embroidered pink heart on the front and matching knitted cardigan and booties.

Nathan was impressed; there was a whole lot more to Brooke Davis than he'd realised back in high school. "These are great, Brooke. Haley will love them." He held up the dress to her "Do you know something we don't?" he joked, but she grinned at him.

"Just a feeling…" she shrugged.

Another few hours passed and shortly before midday, Haley was being wheeled to the delivery room, Nathan by her side. Holding his hand, fear gripped her and she looked up at Nathan. "What if I'm not a good mother?" she wheezed between contractions, which were now less than a minute apart. "I don't want our baby to hate me!" she began to cry and Nathan tried to suppress a smile.

"Hales, you are going to be an amazing mother." he stroked her hair from her face and caressed her cheek. "Our baby is going to be the luckiest kid in the world because it has you as it's mom. With your brains and my good looks, it'll be twice as lucky." he smiled when Haley attempted a laugh.

"Nathan Scott, you are the vainest person I know. But I love you anyway…" Haley's face contorted in pain as another contraction began.

Nathan leaned down and kissed her softly "I love you too." he whispered to her.

At 12.45pm, Haley gave birth to a healthy 7lb 10oz baby girl. An hour later, they were back in her room and Nathan sat on the bed next to her, his daughter in his arms. Both of them looked up when a soft knock on the door brought about their friends.

"Oh my god…" Brooke whispered when she saw the sleeping raven haired beauty in Nathan's arms. "Yay! A girl!" she celebrated quietly.

"She's beautiful" Peyton whispered, standing beside Nathan and peering over his shoulder. He turned and smiled at her, full of pride.

Lucas inched forward for a closer look just as the baby opened her eyes and flexed her tiny fingers. He reached out and smiled when she wrapped her whole hand around his own finger. "Where's Joanna?" he asked absently.

"She just left a few minutes ago, she had to collect her kids." Haley's voice was weary but she looked serene as she leaned back in her bed and watched her friends coo over her daughter.

"What are you going to name her?" Jake was the first one to ask.

Nathan and Haley glanced at each other and smiled. "We're thinking about Sophie." Nathan admitted. "Sophie Celine Scott. What do you guys think?"

The gang nodded their approval. "She looks like a Sophie…" Peyton said quietly, resting her chin on Nathan's shoulder to get a better look.

"Do you want to hold her, Uncle Lucas?" Nathan offered, already moving towards his brother who held out his arms stiffly. He had never held a baby before so he was terrified he might hurt her. He sat down on one of the chairs and settled back as he got comfortable with his niece in his arms. He ignored the chit chat of the rest of the group and became completely entranced by little Sophie and all her little movements. Her hand gripped and released his finger, her eyes opening and closing as she dipped in and out of a slumber. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, took a picture and sent it to his mom's phone. She was flying in tonight but he knew she would love the picture. He looked up when he noticed that Brooke was staring at him and she blushed when she realised she had been caught. He smiled and raised his eyebrow at her and in response she rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. She could see the alarm in his face; Lucas was just so easy to read. Turning her attention back to Haley, she handed her the bag of clothes she had shown Nathan that morning.

"I know you already have tons of clothes for her, but you don't have any Brooke Davis one of a kind pieces. I had so much fun making these that I'm seriously considering designing a line of baby clothing." Brooke said excitedly.

Haley teared up and hugged Brooke after seeing each item; she was genuinely touched by the time and effort Brooke had put in for someone she barely knew. "Thank you so much, Brooke. They're adorable, I love them. Aren't they amazing?" she looked to Nathan who nodded in agreement.

"Well I can't make clothes, so I got you something simple." Peyton leaned forward from the chair she had swiped from Jake and handed Haley a small gift bag. "It's just some bath salts and body scrubs and other smelly stuff for when you get home and need to relax." Peyton smiled shyly. "There's also a card in there, it's kind of cheesy but I thought you'd like it."

Haley tore open the card eagerly and looked at Peyton curiously. Haley loved everything cheesy so she couldn't wait to read the card. It started with Peyton's handwriting:

_Hey Haley_

_When you read this, you'll be a mommy and we'll have a new addition to our little clique. I'm really excited to meet him/her lol. When you began this journey, I'll be the first to admit I wasn't exactly supportive but when I see how happy you've become over the past 7 months, I'm glad you never listened to a word I said because I was so so wrong. I underestimated you; you and Nathan are going to be wonderful parents and you guys can get through anything. I hope you like the poem in this card, it's sweet ain't it?_

A mother's love is something

That no one can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

And of sacrifice and pain.

It is endless and unselfish

And enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

Or take that love away…

It is patient and forgiving

When all others are forsaking

And it never fails or falters

Even though the heart is breaking…

It believes beyond believing

When the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

Of the rarest, brightest gems…

It is far beyond defining,

It defies all explanation

And it still remains a secret

Like the mysteries of creation…

A many splendored miracle

Man can not understand

And another wondrous evidence

Of God's tender guiding hand.

Haley looked up, tears in her eyes and reached out to hug her friend. "Thank you." she whispered into Peyton's mop of blonde curls.

"You know I love you, right?" Peyton whispered back and Haley held her tighter, the two girls fighting back tears. Pulling away, Peyton composed herself. "So am I gonna get to hold this kid or what?"

A/N; So there's a bit of a reconciliation between Peyton and Haley. Don't worry all you Peyton haters, she will become a bitch again in a few years time. Which is the next chapter lol. Review and let me know what you all think! Poem is by Helen Steiner Rice…


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

A/N; SO SO SO SO Sorry that I'm taking so long to update!!! I'm going to Australia in 3 weeks and I've been so busy trying to get organised! Again, sorry, here's the latest instalment!

"I wan be Spiderman today Daddy!" Three year old Sophie Scott cried for the fifth time in as many minutes as she rolled around the living room floor in her Bratz pyjamas, clinging onto her Spiderman outfit. Nathan sighed and looked to Haley for backup but she rolled her eyes at him and gave him an _'I told you so' _look and continued applying her lip gloss.

"Sophie" Nathan whined. "We agreed that you could be Spiderman when you come home later, but this morning you have to be Sophie." Sophie stopped rolling and looked up at her daddy, her bottom lip quivering.

"But I wanna be Spiderman now, Daddy! You said I could!" The quivering lip stiffened and tears began to fall. Nathan threw his eyes up to heaven and ran his hand across his three day stubble that he still hadn't shaved because he'd spent the last half an hour arguing with his stubborn daughter.

"I give up!" he walked off to the kitchen to pour himself a strong cup of coffee. Haley slammed down her gloss and threw him an angry glare.

"You can't always let her have her way, Nathan." she said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her cool, but silently cursing Nathan for absently promising their daughter that she could wear her Spiderman outfit today, the day of Lucas and Peyton's graduation. (Of course, he'd been completely engrossed in a basketball game and she could have been asking him if she could fly to the moon today and he would have agreed.)

"Sophie, hon, you remember that it's Uncle Lucas's and Aunt Peyton's special day today, right?" Sophie nodded at her mother, her tears subsiding. "Well, Uncle Lucas wants you to wear that really pretty dress that he bought you. Don't you want to be like a princess today? Just for your favourite uncle? You can even wear some of mommy's lip gloss…" Haley was not above emotional blackmail and bribery especially as they had to leave the apartment in the next 15 minutes to avoid being late. Sophie's eyes lit up and she hurdled towards the gloss that Haley had just been using. It would be the last time she saw that anyway.

"Will you make me pretty, Mommy?" Haley grinned smugly at Nathan but he just shrugged his shoulders and headed for the bathroom.

"Sweetheart, you are already the most beautiful little girl in the whole entire world. God himself couldn't make you any prettier." In a few swift movements, Sophie's pyjama's were on the floor and she was twirling around the room in her new white Christian Dior dress that Lucas had paid a small fortune for. Haley really had to talk to him about spending so much money on her. Ok, he was her godfather but every time he saw her he had something new and expensive for her. Lucas knew that Haley and Nathan couldn't afford a lot of the stuff he bought and tried hard to lie about the cost but he just couldn't seem to help himself. Sophie's wardrobe was bulging thanks to Lucas's credit card and Brooke's 'experiments'.

As soon as she spotted her uncle, Sophie skipped happily and jumped in Lucas's arms. "Lukey Luke!" she squealed kissing his cheek.

Haley and Nathan followed up behind, smiling at Lucas wearing his gown and mortar. "Check out The Graduate!" Nathan half hugged his brother and took his daughter into his own arms. "Careful Soph, we don't want to get Uncle Lucas all wrinkled." he joked. Peyton bounded towards them and hopped up on Lucas's back.

"Ola friends!" Her blonde curls had been straightened and her hair now reached just above her shoulders and she wore her gown open, revealing a very tight and very short jean dress designed and hand made by the one and only Brooke Davis. "It's finally over! Four years of 9am lectures, tutorials, exams and thesis! All over!"

The group exchanged hugs and words of congratulations before being joined by Brooke, who as always, looked as if she'd just stepped out of the latest edition of Vogue magazine. Brooke had graduated from her design course the year before, top of her class and with a permanent position as a junior designer for a new trendy fashion house in Manhattan. Already her job had taken her to Paris, Milan, London and Australia. She was travelling so much that she and Lucas were hardly seeing each other and their relationship was more than a little on the rocks. "I have THE most gorgeous top and jeans for Sophie." Brooke whispered to Haley who rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh don't be such a meanie! I got something cute for you too, mama!"

"Ooh I can't wait!" Haley smiled happily and linked arms with her friend as they went to find their seats. "So, truthfully, how are things with you and Lucas?"

Brooke's smile faded slightly. "Pretty much the same. I get on a plane, we fight, I come home, we fight."

"Maybe things will get better this summer. Now that school is over, you guys can spend some more time together." Haley suggested.

"Doubtful. He starts his internship at the D.A.'s office in 2 weeks so he's going to be working insane hours and I have a deadline for the fall collection so I have to spend a lot of time in the studio. I don't think things are going to get better, Hales." Brooke smiled sadly at her friend and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Don't say that, Brooke. It's you and Lucas, you guys were made for each other. I've never known a couple more together than you two. This is just a glitch, you'll get through it." Haley sounded confident which made Brooke believe her just a little.

"I hope you're right…" Brooke whispered as Sophie came to sit on her lap, juice box in one hand and a new Bratz doll in the other. Haley glared at Lucas as he walked towards the front of the hall to take his seat. He had to stop spoiling her daughter…

Brooke had arranged for all of them to have dinner together at their favourite restaurant in the city, so soon after the ceremony they were seated at their usual table, laughing and joking about Peyton's slight 'trip' as she climbed the steps to receive her degree.

"It is SO not funny, guys!" she protested. "It could have been disastrous, this dress is not supposed to be seen from the ass up. Thank god for Dr. Turlington, if it wasn't for him, I would have been on my back."

"Thank god I got it on camera." Nathan chuckled "I have to send it to your dad, he'll crack up."

"Where is your dad, Peyt?" Haley asked casually. Larry Sawyer was kind of a touchy subject lately, mostly due to the fact that he had moved to California to be with his new girlfriend.

"Oh, he's in the Caribbean with _Beth_." Peyton made a face and a retching sign with her fingers. She was less than impressed by her soon to be step mother. "Lucas you are so lucky that your mom and step dad bothered to show up to your one and only graduation from university." she said dryly.

"Yeah, it's just a shame that they couldn't stay for dinner." Lucas was enjoying his meal so much that he didn't catch Peyton's sarcasm.

"What about your brothers?" Haley was curious.

"Shane couldn't get off work, Logan is still in New Zealand and Mark just didn't give a crap." Peyton shook her head bitterly. Ever since she moved to New York to go to college, her family had practically fallen apart. She rarely saw any of them and when they found the time to call her it was usually to cancel or delay the plans they had made with her. Jake and her friends were pretty much the only family she had now.

"Well to hell with families" Nathan raised his glass and toasted his friends. "They suck and we're all better off without them. Except Sophie…she's the only one we can all stand." Nathan smiled fondly at his daughter who was busy discussing with her doll the importance of eating ketchup with her chicken nuggets. She shook Haley's hand off irritably when she ruffled the three year olds raven hair.

"What do you mean you have to go?" Lucas whispered between gritted teeth.

"I had to take that call, Luke, it's my job. I have to go back to the studio and try and fix this crisis they're having."

"What crisis? What's more important than right now having dinner with your friends to celebrate your boyfriends graduation?" Lucas raised his voice slightly and caught the attention of everyone else at the table.

Brooke blushed and smiled apologetically at her friends. "I'm sorry guys, I have to go to work…" she turned to Lucas. "I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice." she pleaded to him with her eyes to understand but he wasn't playing along. He threw down his napkin angrily and leaned back in his chair.

"You always have a choice, Brooke." Lucas avoided her gaze "Stop looking at me like you wish I understood, I've understood enough. Why are we even doing this anymore?"

Brooke sat there stunned, not able to form any words. Was he ending this? Somewhere in the distance she could hear Haley whisper something about Sophie needing to go to the bathroom, and she was vaguely aware of all eyes focussed on her.

"So you're questioning our relationship now?" Brooke choked. "Today? Right now? You wanna talk about this here?" she demanded.

"Yeah, why not? This is the first time I've seen you in nearly 2 weeks and you probably won't be home tonight so this is as good a time as any!"

"Guys, you maybe want to take this outside…?" Jake suggested softly.

"Fine!" Brooke stood, grabbed her purse and marched out of the restaurant followed by Lucas. The group looked at each other awkwardly as Haley and Sophie came back to the table.

"They're going to be ok, right?" Haley asked, settling back into her seat.

"Of course they will." Nathan replied confidently. "It's Lucas and Brooke. They'll be tearing each other's clothes off by the time they get outside."

Peyton and Jake glanced at each other knowingly and Haley caught them. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Well… this isn't the first time they've had a huge fight like this… It's been happening a lot more than you think." Jake answered as Peyton seemed quite upset.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan was confused. Lucas had told him that they were going through a little bit of a rough patch but that it would smooth over soon enough.

"Brooke slept with one of her models about a month ago." Peyton stated. "They've been trying to work things out but Lucas isn't dealing with it too well."

"Oh my god…" Haley cried. She had no idea, neither Brooke or Lucas had mentioned a thing. "Why didn't anybody tell us?"

"They didn't want you guys to know, Lucas was too hurt to talk about it and Brooke was too ashamed…" Jake took Peyton's hand and squeezed softly. "They asked us not to mention anything, they seemed sure they would get past it. I guess it's harder than they thought it would be."

The four friends shared their views for a few minutes before Lucas finally came back into the restaurant. Haley went to him instantly and hugged him tightly. "You should have told me." she whispered into his ear. Lucas pulled away and reached for his coat.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm going to go home. I'm pretty tired. Brooke and I just broke up."

Haley hugged him again, as did Peyton. Jake and Nathan muttered their apologies.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Lucas?" Haley enquired gently, not able to believe that her two best friends were calling it a day on their relationship. She had never met a couple more in love than Lucas and Brooke, they were perfect for each other.

"It wasn't working, Hales." Lucas sighed exhausted. "It hasn't been working for a long time." Lucas said his goodbyes and left his friends stunned.

Arriving back in Hartford, Nathan carried his sleeping daughter from the car towards the apartment. Haley was ahead of him when he heard a voice calling him from behind. Turning, he saw his mother cross the street walking towards him.

"Nathan." her eyes glistened as she spoke. It was the first time in nearly 4 years that she had seen her son.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Nathan said quietly, not wanting to wake Sophie.

"I left your father, Nathan. I left him and I had to see you. You and my granddaughter." Deb seemed to notice for the first time that her granddaughter was in Nathan's arms. She took a step towards him but Nathan stepped back quickly.

"No! Stay away, mom." Nathan turned and began up the steps to his apartment. "It's too little, too late." he muttered.

A/N; So what do you guys think? Should Nathan make up with Deb? I think he should but let me know what YOU think… Just review! Sorry not much happened in this chapter but I need to split Lucas and Brooke up for a while. Maybe they'll get a happy ending too…


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Ok so it's been months and I'm really really really sorry! I went travelling and it's taken me a while to get back into the whole writing thing. So here goes… hopefully it's good enough. Let me know!

CHAPTER 10

Deb Scott lay her head against the steering wheel of her car and cried. She cried for the last 4 years without Nathan, without her granddaughter and for the last 22 years of marriage to Dan. Her failure as a mother and grandmother finally felt real, she couldn't push it to the back of her mind anymore.

Since the night Nathan had called to tell her that her granddaughter had been born, Deb had been determined that she wouldn't fail this child. But now here she was, more than 3 years later. It had taken her all this time to find the courage to walk out on her husband. Deb chuckled slightly at the memory of the look on Dan's face when he came home from work one afternoon to find Deb packing the last of her belongings into her new Porsche. She'd purposely made herself look stunning that day and she felt on top of the world as she tossed him the keys to the house and said he could keep it. She had spent 6 months secretly acquiring an apartment and new job in New York and she couldn't have been happier with her decision. Dan had sneered and yelled and finally begged her not to leave. Yes, Dan Scott had begged; she never thought she'd see the day when she would leave that house and not look back, finally free from Dan's clutches.

Driving to Hartford, Deb was determined to find her son and his family and prove to them once and for all that she could be the mother he needed her to be. She had let him down for long enough, it was time for a new beginning for both of them. As she pulled up to their apartment building, her nerve completely dissipated when she saw a young couple gently lift a sleeping toddler from the backseat of a beat up Honda Civic. She almost cried when she realised that the young couple was Nathan and Haley. It had been 4 years since she last saw him but he'd hardly changed at all. He had filled out a little, his hair was shaved and he looked a lot more tired than when he was a carefree 17 year old but he was still the handsome young man she remembered. Haley had really grown into a lovely young woman. Her hair was darker and shorter and the little weight she had gained gave her curves in all the right places. Deb's heart almost stopped when she caught a glimpse of the little girl that was now in Nathan's arms, her head resting on her father's shoulders.

Deb jumped out of the car and crossed the street calling her son's name. She noticed the alarm in Nathan's eyes when he spotted her, followed by hesitation and then contempt.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" he asked her softly. His tone was resigned. Deb's heart broke when she realised just how far from her grasp her son and granddaughter were. An apology and kind words were not going to win them over.

"I left your father, Nathan. I left him and I wanted to see you. You and my granddaughter." she felt an overwhelming need to feel the baby's soft curls in her hand, to breathe in the scent of her only grandchild and hold both of them in her arms but Nathan backed away from her touch.

"No Mom. Stay away. It's too little, too late."

Deb let out a soft cry as Nathan climbed the stairs away from her. Sophie's head rose, god how beautiful she was, Deb thought as she gave a small wave. Her heart nearly burst open when the toddler smiled and waved back.

Nathan tucked Sophie into bed., kissing her cheek lightly so as not to wake her and brushed her hair from her face. He felt Haley watching him from the doorway and he turned and forced a smile.

"She's still in her car. Go and talk to her." she whispered. Nathan stood and shuffled her out of the room, closing Sophie's bedroom door quietly.

"She can go to hell, Haley. I'm not talking to her." Nathan busied himself clearing the clutter from earlier that day. He pulled off his tie and jacket and hung them on the back of the kitchen chair. Haley watched him for a few minutes before he sighed and stomped out of the apartment, muttering that he was only going to talk to her so Haley would stay off his back.

A sharp rap on the passenger side window startled Deb out of her tear filled trance and she looked up to see Nathan glaring at her. She unlocked the door and he slipped into the seat beside her.

"Why are you here?" he asked simply.

"I told you, I wanted to see you, Nate. I want to make it up to you -"

"Stop! After 4 years, you show up here and expect that I'll play along? Say 'Mommy, it's ok that you turned your back on me, I forgive you'"

"Of course not. I don't expect that. I don't even deserve that." Deb took a deep breath, trying hard not to cry again. "I just want to be here for you. You and your family. I've made so many dreadful mistakes over the years and letting your father control me was one of them."

"So you're going to put this all on Dan?" Nathan scorned. He shook his head and reached for the door handle.

"Nathan, wait! Don't go, please hear me out?" Deb pleaded "Just 5 minutes, please?"

Nathan slumped in his seat and looked at his mother straight in the eye. "Why didn't you ever stand up for me?" Nathan's voice was small and Deb had never felt worse in all her life. She closed her eyes tight and shook her head as if trying to shake away the memories.

"Because I was selfish and self-involved." she admitted. "I won't try to defend any of my actions, Nathan, because I was wrong. I was a bad mother, I knew I was a bad mother but I couldn't find the energy to change."

"You found enough energy for your job." Nathan pointed out, his voice cracking a little.

"I was good at my job. I wasn't good at being a mom. At work, I was a star." she half smiled. "People looked up to me and I felt I could take on anything. It felt good to be admired and respected. But at home it was different. Your father always got the last word and always made sure that you knew who was boss in that house. He never respected me. Maybe you never realised it, Nate, but little by little you drew away from me. From both of us really. I can't say I blame you, Dan and I put you in the middle the entire time, each of us pulling you in a different direction." Deb had fixed her gaze on the dashboard, too afraid so see how Nathan was reacting. "You have no idea how many times I decided to leave and take you with me but I always backed down at the last minute."

"Why?" Deb looked up and met her son's eyes. They had softened a little, his jaw were no longer clenched, the fight in him worn down slightly. "Why did you back down?" he asked.

"To get you away from your father, I would have had to drag you to the other side of the world and it still wouldn't have been far enough." Deb let out a bitter laugh. "How could I have ever taken you away from Tree Hill? You would have hated me more than you already did. So I let you become someone else's son." Deb wiped more tears from her eyes and smiled. "I always envied Karen. Can you believe that? Whenever I saw her she always looked so. . . Together. Like nothing fazed her."

"She's just an ordinary person like anybody else. She has bad days too." Nathan spoke firmly but he was eager for her to go on. He had learned more about his mother in the last 5 minutes than he had in the entire 17 years he lived with her.

"No she's not ordinary. What Dan and I did to her was despicable, but she just picked herself right up and moved on. She created a successful business, raised a lovely son. Even took care of my son despite who your parents were. She's something else." Deb smiled fondly. "I really wish I had the kind of relationship with you that she has with Lucas. If I had been more like Karen Roe. . . I wouldn't have lost you."

Nathan stayed silent, not sure if he could keep punishing her. He shifted uncomfortably in the cramped convertible before finally speaking again.

"You know, as much time as I spent at Karen's, I never wished she was my mother. As much as I got pissed at you, you were my mom. I loved you. I couldn't look at you sometimes but I loved you anyway." Nathan rubbed his face with both hands, he was exhausted. It had been a really long day and all he wanted to do right now was take a long hot shower and crawl along into bed beside Haley and sleep for a week.

"Anything you want me to do, Nathan, I'll do it. Just name it. I want to be a part of your life, I have to put things right." Deb pleaded with him as she took her son's hand in her own.

"Mom, a 10 minute heart to heart isn't going to fix this." Nathan looked at his mother's tear stained face; Deb looked wretched and he hated seeing her like that. "I need some time. You can talk to Haley about seeing Sophie, I won't stop you. But I need time, I can't deal with this right now."

"Thank you." Deb whispered as Nathan pushed himself out of the low car and loped across the street and back into his apartment. Deb pulled a pack of tissues from her purse and cleaned herself up as much as she could. He was letting her see her granddaughter. The relief she felt was immense; she knew this was Nathan's way of letting her back into his life without having to deal with it directly. Nathan was a proud young man and she knew how difficult it was for him to give in. He was more like his mother than he realised.

Still shaking, Deb turned the ignition in the car and drove back to her hotel. She would call Haley tomorrow morning and arrange to meet Sophie as soon as possible. Nervous excitement overwhelmed her as she fantasised about their meeting. Tomorrow she would go and shop for the biggest and best gift she could buy for a 3 year old baby girl. This was the start of her new life; no longer was she Deb Scott - career woman, fundraiser, wife of Dan Scott. Now she was Deb Lee - mother and grandmother.

Peyton threw her purse onto the bedroom floor and collapsed onto the bed, still fully dressed. Jake, pulling off his tie and kicking off his shoes, joined her.

"What a day!" he sighed.

"Mmmm." Peyton grunted at him, too tired to respond.

"Do you really think this break up is permanent? Lucas seemed so. . . Detached."

"Jake." Peyton raised her head to look at her boyfriend of 4 years. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm too tired. Two of my best friends have broken hearts right now. Lucas is a stubborn bastard - he always has been. If he says it's over, it's going to be a while before he changes his mind, but he will. Brooke and Lucas were made for each other. I'm going to sleep. Good night." She let her head fall back to the pillow and closed her eyes. Moments later, she felt Jake pulling off her shoes and unzipping her jean dress.

"Jake, I'm so not in the mood right now!" she swatted his hand away, annoyed.

"I'm not trying to have sex with you, Peyton, I'm trying to get you out of those clothes because you'll be whining tomorrow when your dress is ruined." Jake shook his head. Peyton could be so moody sometimes.

"Oh. Ok. Continue." Peyton loosened her limbs while Jake undressed her.

"You're such a baby, I swear, Peyt. Even Jenny undresses herself now."

"Jenny's six. She's far more mature than me." Peyton yawned and turned over onto her stomach, now only wearing her bra and panties. She opened one eye and smiled at Jake. "Besides, when has undressing me ever been something to complain about?"

"I wish Jenny could have been there today to see you graduate." Jake, now in just his boxers, climbed into bed beside his girlfriend. "I'll have to show her the tape of you tripping. It's hilarious."

Peyton glared at him, but chose to ignore it. "I missed her too. How convenient is it that Nikki booked a vacation to California to coincide with my graduation?"

"That's Nikki all over. She's threatened by you of course. Anyway, we'll do something special when she gets back. Just the three of us."

Peyton smiled and nodded, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. She couldn't wait for Jenny to get back. She had practically adopted the six year old as her own and although Jenny stayed with them every other weekend and school holidays, every visit was a special occasion. She and Jake had moved in together 6 months previously and when all three of them were there together, they were a family and Peyton found she liked it a whole lot more than she thought she would. Snuggling closer to Jake, Peyton smiled when he draped his arm across her lower back and nuzzled her shoulder. She responded by kicking his shin. "Stop it. Shut up and go to sleep."

Across town, Brooke Davis let herself into the apartment that she and Lucas had shared for almost a year and threw her keys onto the kitchen counter. She was exhausted. It was almost 1am and now the crisis at the studio was settled, it was time to settle the crisis at home. Even though all she wanted to do was crawl into bed, she knew she had to fix things with Lucas before the morning. After the huge fight outside the restaurant, Brooke had struggled to fight back the tears as she went back to work. She put everything to the back of her mind as she usually did and focussed on the work she had to do. But now she was home, she couldn't pretend anymore. Lucas was probably asleep by now but she would have to wake him. Hopefully he had cooled off since earlier and would be prepared to talk to her. She went into the spare room where he had stayed after he had found out about her infidelity but was surprised to find the bed empty. Brooke went into her own room but he wasn't there either. A little panicked, Brooke worried that something terrible had happened to him until she checked the closet and saw his clothes were missing. _How could he do this? _she thought hopelessly. _How could he just leave without a word in the middle of the night? _

Brooke sat down on her bed and sobbed quietly as she undressed, folding her designer clothes carefully before putting them on top of the small laundry pile. Even Lucas's dirty clothes were gone. The past few months had been pretty rough for the both of them. Brooke's job had become increasingly demanding as had Lucas' studies. He was working hard to get into Law school and she was trying to make a name for herself at work. They weren't spending a lot of time together and when they did, all they would do was fight about not spending enough time together. It had been a lonely time for both of them and one drunken night at a label launch party, she had succumbed to the charms of a 25 year old catwalk model and aspiring actor, Jared Clayton. Brooke still couldn't believe how she could have gone from innocent flirtations to a quick fumble in a cloakroom. Brooke stifled a cry as she remembered the shame she felt afterwards and still felt a month later. She had gone home to find that Lucas had taken a night off studying to wait up for her with a bottle of wine and her favourite Chinese meal, but guilt washed over her and she tearfully confessed her indiscretion to a stunned Lucas. To say he was angry was an understatement: He had yelled, he had cried and he had smashed the bottle of wine against the wall. After several days of torturous silence, Brooke had offered to move out and give Lucas some space but he had panicked and begged her not to leave. He wanted to start over, he didn't want to lose her and he promised that they could make it work. He had made love to her all night and told her that he loved her and forgave her and Brooke had so desperately wanted to be forgiven that she accepted. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. They made a thousand promises to each other, every one of them broken within a month.

Brooke wasn't foolish enough to think that their relationship would return to what it had been in previous years but she had hoped that maybe they could get through it stronger than ever. _Obviously not _she thought bitterly. As she climbed into bed, Brooke tried to recall a time when she and Lucas were carefree and happily in love. It had been a long time before either of them were happy. Maybe some time apart would be good for them. Brooke smiled faintly. She was confident that it would all work out. Lucas Scott was the guy for her - she had told him that time and again over the 4 years they had been together. They would be together again, she was sure of it. They needed a break, time to evaluate and cool off. That was the way Lucas worked. It would all be just fine. That was what Brooke told herself as she drifted into a fitful sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

a/n Sorry again for the long wait for the update, please please review. It's all I ask, I promise! Just review! ah go on , you know you want to!

CHAPTER 11

"Are you sure about this?" Nathan stared at his brother uncertainly, not quite believing what his brother was telling him.

"Of course i'm sure, why wouldn't I be? I love her and I want to marry her." Lucas shrugged as if this was the most obvious answer to his brother's question. He couldn't understand Nathan's less than overjoyed response.

"After everything that has happened? It's a little soon don't you think? It's only been 6 months..." Nathan trailed off and looked to Haley for backup but she was even more shocked than he was.

"No I don't think it's too soon. I'm moving on, leaving the past behind me. I thought you guys would be happy for me..." Lucas leaned back in the chair and eyed his brother and best friend warily. He knew they were a little protective of him especially over the last few months but he expected a more enthusiastic response to his news.

"Lucas..." Haley began slowly. "It's not that we don't want you to move on, but this is a little extreme, especially for you. You don't usually make such rash decisions... you're only 23 Luke, why would you want to get married?"

"Oh come on Haley, this from the girl who left home at 17 and set up house with her boyfriend and had a baby a year later. Settling down worked for you guys, why wouldn't it work for me?" Lucas ran his hand over his newly shaved head. Cutting off his spiky blond locks had been phase one of the new and improved Lucas Scott.

"That's different Lucas, we've been together a long time and what works for us might not necessarily work for you..."

"Don't patronize me Haley..." Lucas gave a short laugh and shook his head. "We both know that long term relationships aren't exactly the one way ticket to domestic bliss. I'm happy, Haley. I'm getting married. Rachel Gattina is the kind of woman I can see a future with."

Haley bit her tongue. She knew exactly what kind of woman Rachel Gattina was, and now the bitch had dug her sharp claws firmly into her rebounding best friend. Haley decided to keep quiet as she knew how vulnerable Lucas was right now and if she and Nathan opposed too strongly to his engagement to Rachel they could lose him completely.

"Fine." Haley sighed and reached for Lucas's hand. "If you're happy, then we're happy, right Nathan?" he nodded his agreement. "Congratulations." she smiled, trying to make it believable and the way Lucas beamed back at them she knew he bought it.

"I can't believe her. She is unbelievable!" Haley paced back and forth angrily, wearing the carpet thin. Lucas had left their apartment half an hour ago and she was still seething. They had to do something, they couldn't let Lucas take such a drastic leap to forget his past. "Rachel's really put a number on him, Nathan. What on earth can he possibly see in her?"

Nathan almost choked on the sandwich he was wolfing when he realised that his girlfriend was waiting on him to answer her question. "Um... I don't know. She's good looking I guess, if you're into the long-legged, busty, red-haired type."

Haley narrowed her eyes at him. "They're fake, Nathan. Even the red hair."

"Listen Hales. We need to stay out of it. Let Lucas do what he has to do. I doubt he'll even go through with it - give him a few more months of getting over Brooke and he'll see how ridiculous he's being and end it. Besides, do you really think Karen is going to let him marry her? I'd love to be there when those fireworks get lit..."

"I guess you're right. I hope he sees sense, he still has to get through Law school and find a job. He's completely blind to her isn't he? She can see that Lucas is going places and she's tagging along for the ride trying to get what she can out of it. She's so... vacuous. I think that's the right word for her."

Nathan stood and grasped Haley firmly by the shoulders. "Haley. Calm down. Let's not get worked up over something that may not even happen, ok?"

"Ok." Haley's posture sagged and she sighed heavily. "I just worry about him. He took the break up so hard, Nathan, and he jumped into that relationship too soon. I wish he would just tell me what's going on in that thick head of his."

"I know you worry, but Lucas is a grown man. He's completely capable of fixing himself. He doesn't need you to do it for him. Now let's change the subject, Sophie will be home soon and we don't want her to see you so upset." Nathan pulled Haley into a firm hug and they both stood there in the silence of their living room for a few moments before a loud rapping on the front door broke them out of their troubled reflection.

Haley pulled away and before she fully opened the door, her daughter was bouncing into the apartment, bringing it to life with her jabbering and sprightly energy. She was closely followed by Deb who struggled to catch her breath and keep up with her hyper grandchild.

"Mommy! Daddy! Look what grandma bought me!" Sophie squealed with delight, eager to show her prize as she held up a Bratz sticker book and a large pile of stickers.

"Did you say thank you?" Nathan asked as he whipped Sophie up into his arms and kissed her cheeks and blew raspberries on her neck which always caused an explosion of giggles and squeals.

"Yes Daddy!" Sophie giggled, twisting and squirming to be let go but delighted at her father's attention. "Grandma, will you help me put the stickers in the right place?" She wriggled free from Nathan and ran to her usual spot on the living room floor and began to spread out all of her stickers and sing happily to herself.

Nathan smiled at Deb and Haley and shrugged his shoulders. His daughter was as crazy as 4 year olds come but he couldn't be more proud.

"Can I talk to you and Haley for a moment, Nathan?" Deb asked, a little too furtive for Nathan's liking. Ever since Deb had stepped out of the shadows 6 months ago, Nathan had been waiting for the other shoe to drop. He couldn't help but be suspicious of this mother, and who could blame him with the upbringing he had. What had started as a few afternoon visits to Sophie had gradually turned into dinners and day trips that involved all four of them. Ever so slowly, Nathan had allowed his mother back into his life, but he was still fearful of the day that she would revert back to her old self and prove that he should never have trusted her in the first place. Deb cleared her throat and took a seat at the table in the open plan kitchen/living room. Haley and Nathan joined her, both glancing at each other a little confused.

"An opportunity has come up for me to start up my own business. A business that I think might interest you, Nate." Nathan glanced at Haley again, more puzzled than before.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan was more than a little wary, after all, his mother had lived with Dan Scott for over 20 years.

"You know the company I work for designs and sells sports equipment, right? Well, they've decided to branch out by opening purpose built gyms throughout the state. They are building state of the art gymnasiums - a full gym floor, Olympic sized swimming pool, a tennis and basketball court - both indoors and outdoors, you name it, these places are going to have it. And i've been put in charge of this project. From the design, development, construction, right down to running the sister company that will operate these gyms." Deb paused and waited for her son to respond.

"Um... well that's great Mom. Congratulations. Nice break. What does this have to do with me?" Nathan was perplexed but Haley had started to get it and a small smile played on her lips.

"Nathan, I want you to join me. Be my partner. I want you to help me run the company."

"Excuse me? Are you serious? Ok i'm lost..."

"Son, I've been made Managing Director of a company that will operate 5 gyms throughout the states of Connecticut and New York. I need someone who I trust to be a competent, smart and innovative person to help me. That person is you, Nathan." Deb looked at her son meaningfully. "You don't have to decide right away, sweetheart. You and Haley can talk it over and get back to me. But just to put your mind at ease, this isn't any kind of ploy. This is a legitimate business offer and I would not be offering you the job if I didn't think you were capable. I'll leave you both to discuss what you need to." Deb hugged her granddaughter goodbye and smiled warmly at Haley before she left the apartment.

"Did that just happen?" Nathan was still in a daze. This certainly was a day filled with surprises. First his brother's shotgun engagement and now a too-good-to-be-true job offer from his mother.

"What are you thinking?" Haley asked him, jolting him back to reality.

Nathan watched his girlfriend carefully for her reaction. "My mother just offered me a job."

"I know. A good one." Haley chuckled. "It sounds too good to be true, right?"

"Which means it probably is." Nathan snorted and shook his head. He really didn't know what to think.

"I don't think Deb has an ulterior motive here, Nate. I think this is genuine, we have no reason to believe she's not."

" I have a job. We're getting by just fine." Nathan reasoned.

"We're scraping by. Granted, the money is a little better since you became a qualified mechanic and my assistant manager salary isn't awful." Haley agreed.

"And you graduate soon and you can start teaching so the pay will be better again."

"You have your GED Nathan, you can go further too."

Nathan sighed and they sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from Sophie who was singing one the of the songs from High School Musical.

"It does sound like a good job doesn't it?" Nathan spoke quietly. "I don't know the first thing about running a gym, or gyms as the case will be. I don't know how to run a company..."

"Dan didn't know much about cars when he started a dealership. Karen didn't know much about catering when she opened her cafe." Haley had a playful smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye.

"It would be really challenging. Demanding too. It could be kind of exciting..."

"Very. You would have to wear a suit of course. I'd miss the greasy monkey suit." The brunette wriggled her eyebrows suggestively at her boyfriend and he rolled his eyes. "We could get a bigger apartment." Haley noted.

"Maybe even a house."

"We could buy new car."

"We could take a vacation."

"We could get married." Nathan looked at Haley completely serious.

"We could if you asked me..." Haley examined her nails and mischeviously ignored her partner.

"If I asked you, would you say yes?"

"I'd think about it... consider my options." Haley grinned wickedly at him.

"I'll keep that in mind." Nathan leaned back and watched his girlfriend as she went over to play with their daughter. _I guess I'd better take that job _he thought, almost giddy with excitement.

"You're joking aren't you?" Peyton Sawyer snapped. "There's no way in hell the Lucas Scott I know would actually consider marrying such a venomous parasite!"

Lucas clenched his jaw and glared at his childhood friend. "I would appreciate it Peyton, if you didn't refer to Rachel like that." he spoke calmly and with as much patience as he could muster but his anger was building. For the last few months he had been defending his relationship with Rachel, so what if he had started dating her only 1 month after he left Brooke. Rachel made him forget and that was exactly what he needed. Why couldn't his friends understand that?

"I call it like I see it, Lucas. I always have, and I sure as hell see Rachel Gattina for what she is. A parasite. Her only ambition in life is to marry a rich, successful fool, pop out a few kids, screw the gardener and screw you in the divorce. And Lucas, you're no fool."

"You're forgetting something Peyton! I'm not rich or successful. I'm a dirt poor law student, but she loves me anyway and she supports what I want to do. That kind of blows your theory right out of the water!" Lucas was trying hard to keep his cool but he was fuming. Why couldn't she play along the way Nathan and Haley had?

"You are so blind, it's almost pathetic! You may have nothing now, Lucas, but you're a student who interns every year at the D.A's office, you're top of your class every semester and you're smart as hell. You will be successful, Lucas, you will be wealthy. It's why you work so damn hard and she knows that! She'll be that first wife who claims to have made you the man you are to all the other social climbing gold diggers. She will bleed you dry, Luke. You're better than that! Why can't you see that?"

"Don't tell me what I need to see! I see someone who's trying desperately to hang on to the days where she didn't have to share her two best friends. Jake is perfect for you but you keep him at arm's length and don't you think I don't know why Peyton!" Lucas was yelling now, he had about enough of Peyton's high and mighty attitude towards his fiance.

"Bullshit, Lucas! I love Jake, I wouldn't be living with him otherwise..."

"Oh please, don't kid yourself! If Nathan walked in here right now and told you that he had been secretly in love with you for years and wanted you to leave with him on the first plane out of here, you would! I've seen it for years, Peyton!"

Peyton stood there in stunned silence. She took a deep breath and walked towards her living room window, overlooking the streets of Manhattan. Her job at Nouveau Productions as a researcher didn't pay much but she and Jake were getting by ok since he'd scored a staff writer job for a national sports magazine. Their west side apartment was tiny but the location was perfect and it was ideal for the two of them and Jenny when she came to visit. She turned and looked at her friend and was surprised at the hurt in his eyes.

"I love Nathan AND you like a brother. If after all these years you really believe that I would ever want anything more than that with him then you have NEVER really known me. Don't you ever dare claim to know what's in my heart, Lucas Scott. You're like a brother to me and that's why I refuse to stand by and watch you be made a fool of by Rachel. I've known her since college Lucas, I know exactly what she's like. And she will ruin you."

Lucas couldn't listen to this anymore, he couldn't contain his anger. He stood abruptly and walked towards the door. Both his voice and body were shaking when he spoke. "You have no right to make assumptions about my relationship with Rachel. You're a hypocrite, Peyton. You run down my throat when I make assumptions about you and Nathan but it's perfectly ok for you to stand there and tell me how I feel? Why can't you accept this? Nathan and Haley have..."

Peyton laughed bitterly. " Nathan and Haley should have spoken up, but they're afraid of losing you so it's left to me to try and make you see that you're acting crazy." Tears filled her eyes but she refused to let them fall as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"So you're not afraid of losing me?" Lucas challenged her.

"I'm not afraid to tell you what I think. You can hate me for speaking the truth or you can actually man up and listen. I'm being honest with you, that's what friends are supposed to do. I know breaking up with Brooke was hard but you still love her Luke. You won't ever stop and you can marry a million Rachels but you won't forget her. And not a single one of them will live up to what you had for 4 years. Maybe if you swallowed your pride, you could have that back."

"Don't bring her into this, Peyton. This has nothing to do with Brooke. I'm doing this for myself, for once i'm actually putting myself first. Why the hell can't I be selfish for once? Why must I always be the good, dependable, responsible Lucas Scott?! Maybe I want to do something stupid, maybe I want to hurt her like she hurt me!" Lucas almost screamed. He wanted this conversation over, he wanted out of Peyton's apartment and away from her painful words.

"Rachel can't replace her Luke. I guess you'll find that out in time. But I won't be there to watch it happen. I don't want to see her destroy a person I love."

Lucas swallowed hard and stared coldly at the curly haired blonde in front of him. He could't describe how her words were pulling him apart, he felt as if he'd been kicked in the chest and he couldn't breathe. Could his best friend really be saying this to him? "15 years of friendship mean nothing to you?" he could barely get the words out.

Tears streamed down Peyton's face and she struggled to hold onto her resolve. "I can't do it. I love you and won't watch you make such a huge mistake. If you marry Rachel, our friendship is over."

Lucas visibly crumbled as he opened the door he had been standing next to. "If it's a mistake, then it's my mistake to make. Goodbye Peyton."

Peyton watched the door for 10 minutes after Lucas left, wondering if that whole scene had really happened. Shaking herself from her daze, she finally sat down on her sofa and cried for the 15 years she had just thrown away.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

"Will my teacher be nice to me?" Sophie Scott raised her arms to allow her mother to pull off her pyjama top and put on her yellow SpongeBob T-shirt.

"She's very nice, but you have to be a good girl and do all your work and learn lots of things." Haley finished dressing her daughter for her first day of school and turned her around so she could brush the child's unruly dark hair, pulling it into a tight ponytail.

"Daddy already taught me the alphabet, what else do I have to learn? Do they let you paint in school? Will they let me play basketball?" Haley laughed. Sophie was a typical Scott, always wanted a basketball in her hands.

"I'm sure you can play basketball during play time and yes they do lots of painting in kindegarten so you can paint Daddy and I lots of pictures." This pleased Sophie to no end and aside from some whining about what shoes she wanted to wear, she chatted away happily about what and who she intended to paint.

"Sophie Scott's special first day of school breakfast is served!" Nathan poked his head around the doorway of his daughter's bedroom, spatula in hand and a big smile for his girls. Sophie ran down to the kitchen followed by Haley and both marvelled at the feast before them. "Ok, we've got cereal, fruit, wholemeal toast and orange juice on this side..." Sophie frowned and made a face. "...They're for Mommy." Nathan quickly assured his child. "Over here just for you and me my fellow cholesterol junkie, we have bacon, eggs (scrambled and fried), waffles and sausage. Ladies, tuck in and enjoy!" Nathan tossed the spatula towards the sink and whooped when it landed perfectly before taking his seat at the table.

"I can't believe you did all this, Nathan. We'll never eat all of this food." Haley chuckled as she bit into a slice of wholemeal toast.

"Well, our daughter only has one first day at school breakfast, isn't that right Sophizzle?" Sophie high-fived her Dad, her mouth full of bacon.

Since Nathan had taken the job with Deb, his time at home was dwindling. The job was extremely demanding but they were certainly reaping the financial benefits and just a short time after starting the job, he and Haley had put a down payment on a modest 3 bedroom house in the suburbs, closer to the high school where Haley had just begun teaching. Life had changed dramatically for the young family, most of it for the better but Nathan still worried about the amount of time he was spending away from his family. In the 6 or 7 months that he had been with the company, he was being pulled in all sorts of directions; meetings with architects, contractors, city officials and vendors took him all over the East coast but he had to admit, he was loving every minute of it. He never imagined that he would be the corporate type, let alone actually enjoy it, but he guessed he was more his mother's son than he realised. Who would have thought two high school dropouts who ran away from home and had a baby before they turned 20 would actually succeed the way he and Haley had? Nathan certainly thanked whatever higher power was looking down on them every day. Both he and Haley had worked to the bone ever since they arrived in Hartford, working minimum wage jobs, going to school at night to get their GED's and then Haley going to night college to get her degree. It had been a very trying few years for them but Nathan was confident they had finally come out the other side and the grass sure was greener over here. For those years, Nathan had felt like a dark cloud was constantly hanging over him, the only sunshine being Haley and Sophie. Now that he was free from their previous worries, such as where they would get the following months rent after paying hundreds of dollars to replace their broken down heater, Nathan felt as if he could finally breathe again.

Almost 6 years later and here they were, about to drive their daughter to her first day of school. They were a long way from their days in Tree Hill although Nathan often found himself missing his home town. He hadn't been back there since driving away in the middle of the night with Haley at his side but lately he felt as if he owed it to himself to pay a visit. It wasn't as if there was anything there for him, Karen and Keith often visited Hartford as they knew that Nathan and Haley couldn't afford to take the long trip to North Carolina. Yet still he needed to see the place again.

"Daddy, when I'm 5 can I have a bike like Kara's?" Sophie batted her eyelashes at her father, quite used to being able to manipulate him despite her young age.

Haley smiled knowingly at Nathan. Sophie's 5th birthday party had been planned for weeks and the bike that she had been begging for for months was safely stashed away at Nathan's office. "We'll have to see won't we? Are you going to be the best girl in school? And the best girl at home?" Nathan winked at Haley.

"Of course, Daddy. I'm always good!" Sophie said it so innocently that both Nathan and Haley burst out laughing.

"Oh really? So that wasn't you last night who cried and whined for a whole hour last night because you weren't allowed to eat a candy bar before bedtime?"

Sophie giggled and tried to hide her mischevious smile. "Nope. That definatley wasn't me. For shizzle, Daddy!"

An hour later and the couple were driving back to their house after dropping Sophie to school. Haley clenched her balled up tissue and willed herself not to cry again. Nathan stared straight ahead and drove in stony silence. Both were traumatised by the fact that their baby was growing up and no longer needed them. Ok, well of course she needed them, but it seemed they were more upset by Sophie's introduction to pre school than she was. Haley had expected tears and tantrums, but her daughter had merely waved at them and yelled back 'See ya later!' Their baby was no longer that and both were feeling a little sensitive that their child was growing up.

"Did you get enough pictures?" Nathan broke the silence, his voice overly cheerful.

"Yeah, I think I took enough. I don't think Miss Archer was too happy that I kept taking pictures of her and almost every other kid in the class. I'll have to email them to your Mom and Karen as soon as we get back. They keep texting me to find out how it went."

"Don't forget to send them to Lucas and Rachel." Nathan reminded.

Haley made a face. She knew how excited Lucas was about today and couldn't wait for Sophie to call him later to tell him all about it, but Rachel just couldn't care less. Lucas had spent half an hour on the phone last night asking Sophie all sorts of questions but the entire time Rachel was in the background whining that they were going to miss their reservations. But, of course, Haley had to make nice whenever she saw Rachel, after all she was Lucas's wife. God she hated saying that in her head almost as much as she hated saying it out loud. After a month long engagement that no-one could seem to talk Lucas out of (not even his mother), he and Rachel had eloped to Mexico and got married on a beach with 2 strangers as their witnesses. It seemed Lucas had known all too well just how many problems he would have caused amongst his friends and family had he married at home, so an elopement was the easier option. They would both be at Sophie's birthday party in a few weeks so Haley would have to mentally prepare herself days in advance for Rachel's arrival. Each visit from her was an ordeal that Haley spent days getting over. She would arrive into her and Nathan's home and instantly criticize everything in her condescending yet subtle way (so subtle that Lucas and Nathan were oblivious) and would complain about the food, the lack of space, too many toys, not enough light to apply her makeup, the kid who makes too much noise, the kid who wipes her sticky hands on her expensive clothes (Haley was secretly proud of that one) and uncomfortable bed in the guest bedroom. Everytime Rachel left, Haley was usually fit to drop from exhaustion and although Lucas constantly apologised, he always made excuses for his wife.

What worried Haley most about Sophie's birthday party was that ALL her friends would be there, including Peyton and Brooke and she wasn't sure how all of them would cope in the same room together after almost a year of not talking. Nathan was confident that everyone would put aside their differences for Sophie's sake, but Haley wasn't so sure. There was a lot of bottled up emotions between the three and Haley was more than a little apprehensive, especially where Lucas was concerned. He had been playing the happy husband for months now but Haley knew her friend well enough to know when things were getting on top of him. Haley had brought Sophie to New York for a visit a few weeks previously and she wasn't afraid to tell him that he looked awful. He had lost weight from his already slight frame and looked as if he hadn't slept in days. Concerned for her friend, she had try to talk to him about what was obviously troubling him, but as usual, Lucas was stubborn and insisted that he was just under pressure with studying and the coming academic year. Haley didn't buy it of course and would use the party as an excuse to get him away from Rachel and get him to open up to her, something he hadn't done since Rachel had come into his life and she hoped she could reach him before it was too late.

Rachel Gattina Scott padded down the hallway of her cramped one bedroom apartment in to the small kitchen, dressed only in a tiny tank top and a pair of 'Aussie Bums' boxers, the only souvenir from her last relationship. She pulled open the fridge and stared aimlessly inside until her eyes began to blur. Lucas, who was sitting at the breakfast counter quietly sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper, smiled at his wife's hungover state. He couldn't quite sympathise though.

"Good night last night?" he enquired softly, sensitive to her fragile head.

"It wasn't bad. We went to a new club in SoHo, Jay-Z was there. You should have come with us."

"Sorry I missed that, I had to get an early start this morning though." Lucas reached behind him and tried to pull Rachel towards him but she shrugged him off and gave him an irritated sigh.

"Lucas, I have morning breath. And you know I hate being crowded..."

"I don't care about your breath" Lucas laughed and rolled his eyes. Rachel was obviously in another one of her moods.

"Well I do." she pouted back as she took a sip of his lukewarm coffee. She grimaced when she realised that Lucas had heaped his usual 2 spoonfuls of sugar into the cup so instead grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and began to peel and slice.

"Is that all you're going to have for breakfast?" Lucas raised his eyebrow, wondering how on earth his wife survived on such little sustenance.

"Yes. Why?" Rachel turned and glared him, readying herself for their habitual argument about her diet but Lucas quickly sensed her hostility and dropped the subject. Rachel's appetite or lack of, was one of the many things they fought about lately. Every conversation became a dispute about money, or Rachel's partying, Lucas's absence from the party scene or his not spending enough time with her (that was only when she wasn't accusing him of overcrowding her). He couldn't seem to win with her these days and it was exhausting him. When she was out with her friends, Lucas would be kept awake most of the night worrying who she was with, whether she would go home with another guy and then when he had convinced himself that Rachel was cheating on him, he would blame himself for not being a good enough husband. He would understand why she would want to cheat on him, because he was simply not good enough.

"So, it's Sunday and neither of us have to work, so what do you think about taking a drive to Hartford to visit Nathan, Haley and Sophie? We could take Sophie out, to the zoo or something..."

Rachel rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Lucas, didn't you spend forever on the phone to Sophie and Haley last night? Jeez, if I wasn't such an understanding wife, I might be jealous of the attention you pay to another woman. Anyway, I made plans today. I'm going to a yoga class and then to lunch with the girls. We'll probably shop for awhile after that."

"I thought we were going to hang out today?" Lucas knew he sounded like a baby but he couldn't help it. Rachel had whined at him all week that he wasn't paying any attention to her so he had suggested that they would spend all day Sunday together, yet now she was ditching him for her friends. Again.

"Baby, my life doesn't go on hold just because you decide to take a day off from studying. You can go to Hartford if you like or hang out with one of you law school buddies. Do whatever you want... I'm going for a shower!" With that Rachel turned on her heel and bounced out of the room.

Lucas gritted his teeth and shook his head. Why the hell did marriage have to be such hard work? Or maybe it was just his marriage... He used to be attracted to Rachel's carefree, ruthless attitude but now it just drove him nuts. She blew so hot and cold that Lucas never knew where he stood with her, never knew what to expect and it was beginning to take it's toll on his health, both physical and mental. He had paid a visit to his doctor recently and he had actually suggested anti-depressants to help with the pressure that was building everyday and felt like it would explode at any given moment. Lucas had assured the doc that he didn't need pills to cope and promised to start relaxing a little more. Now here he was on a Sunday morning, the ideal day for relaxing and he had nothing to do. Picking up the phone, he dialled his brother's number.

_Hi, you've reached Nathan, Haley and Sophie_...

He hung up and took a deep breath. He would call back later just to chat with Haley if he didn't make it down there. So much of his time was spent studying, taking classes and working as a clerk in a large law firm in the city that when he finally did have a day off to chill out, he usually had no one to hang out with. It was days like these that he used to be able to rely on Peyton to drag him to some of the most obscure places in New York city and they would spend all day laughing and acting like children. Lucas still saw Jake every Wednesday night when they met to play basketball at a gym in Luke's neighbourhood but it was sometimes awkward because, despite Jake's attempts to reconcile the two, both he and Peyton refused to talk about each other.

A short time later, Rachel returned to the kitchen fully made up wearing black skinny jeans and a figure hugging silver-grey sweater. She looked gorgeous of course.

"Baby, are you mad at me?" she asked sweetly, sliding onto her husband's lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. Lucas pulled away from her and shook his head no.

"You are..." Rachel pulled him back to her and tightened her grip, but Lucas wasn't in the mood for her games.

"I'm not mad, go hang out with your friends. Have fun. I have alot to do today anyway..."

"Ok" Rachel was appeased and hopped up, grabbed her purse and gave Lucas a quick kiss on the lips before leaving the apartment. Lucas sighed and stretched out his arms behind his head. Now he had to find something to do for the day.

In a studio across town, Brooke was putting the final touches to a red silk bustier that was the last piece of a collection she was presenting to her boss the following morning. It wasn't rare to find Brooke in the studio on a Sunday morning, in fact, for the past year she had completely thrown herself into her work and it was finally paying off as the powers that be were beginning to take notice of her designs.

"Hey gorgeous..." A deep male voice from behind her made her jump. Recognising the voice, Brooke turned around and her eyes met those of the tall, dimpled blond who's voice sent ripples of pleasure all through her body.

"Hey yourself. What are you doing here? I thought you were in California?" Brooke sashayed towards him and allowed him to pull her into his arms for a passionate kiss.

"I missed you of course. Did you miss me?"

"Maybe, how did you know where I was?"

"Are you ever anywhere else?"

"Logan Sawyer, are you saying I work too much?" Brooke teased as she stroked the back of his neck, curling her fingers into his thick blond hair which had grown a little since she last saw him.

"Would I ever dare say that?" Logan teased back. "How do you feel about me stealing away to get some lunch by the park? My treat..."

Brooke contemplated the offer for a moment before accepting. She quickly finished up and grabbed her coat as Logan grasped her hand and pulled her out of the studio and into the elevator, kissing and nuzzling her neck all the way to the ground floor. They were laughing and fondling as they left the building, unaware that another tall handsome blond was watching them.

Lucas suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe, his knees became weak and the constant knot in his stomach became tighter. He quickly found a bench to sit on and watched as Brooke, HIS Brooke, walked hand in hand with Logan Sawyer, Peyton's older brother. Lucas wasn't quite sure how he had gotten to this part of town - he had left his apartment with the intention of taking a long walk to clear his mind of the uneasiness that had settled there over the last few weeks and then somehow found himself standing across the street from the building where Brooke worked. He had almost convinced himself to go inside and see if she was there and maybe say hello but was stopped in his tracks when the petite brunette emerged laughing, nestled in the arms of another man.

He wondered briefly about the pairing, torturing himself as to when the affair could have began. In the time he and Brooke had been together, they had met Logan Sawyer only once during a trip to Tree Hill when Logan had also returned for a brief respite from his travels. Logan was the complete opposite to Brooke, he was the love them and leave them type and according to Peyton, left a string of broken hearts in cities all over the world. He was an adventurer, not content on living in one place for any length of time and often sent emails to his sister with tales of his bold lifestyle from skydiving to camping in the Australian bush. Last Lucas heard, he was somewhere in Africa working for an aid agency.

For the past year, Lucas had tried not to torment himself with thoughts of Brooke, especially with another man, but of course, glutton for punishment that he was, often he could think of little else. He would try to imagine that she was happy, single, but still happy and seeing her as he just seen her, he silently cursed himself for being here to witness a scene that ripped his heart out all over again. At that moment as she disappeared from view, Lucas would have given anything to be the one who was making her laugh, his arms wrapped around her waist and kissing that gorgeous silky hair.

Outside Peyton and Jake's apartment, Lucas paid the taxi driver and looked up to the window of their apartment, searching for a sign that someone was home. He pressed the buzzer and sighed with relief when Peyton's voice answered.

"It's Luke." Silence followed but the door unlocked and he made his way upstairs and found the front door had been left open for him. He had a strange sense of deja vu as he entered, but he hoped that this conversation would go down better than the last one they had.

Peyton was standing by the window looking out onto the street below when he entered her living room. She turned and leaned against the ledge, her arms folded across her chest. She noticed the wedding band on his left hand and grimaced. Of course she knew that he had married but it was still a jarring reminder of the reason this was the first time she had seen him in so many months.

"Hi" Lucas was the first to speak, his voice deeper than she remembered. It was amazing how a person could spend 15 years of their life listening to a voice that became as familiar to them as their own, but just a few short months without it and it sounded foreign and strange.

"What are you doing here?" Peyton wasn't going to bother with the pleasantries, it was obvious from Lucas's eager expression that he was here to find out something.

"Nice to see you too, Peyton..." Lucas laughed bitterly and looked as if he was going to change his mind and leave.

"Wait, I'm sorry... but can you blame me for wanting to know why you're here? You haven't exactly dropped in for a coffee and a chat now have you?" Peyton half smiled but avoided his intense gaze.

"I spent the whole taxi ride trying to talk myself out of coming here because when you know my reason for being here you'll laugh in my face and kick me out."

"I don't think I've ever laughed in anybody's face before so I don't think i'm going to start today. So, tell me. Why are you here?"

"Brooke." Lucas shrugged as if it was obvious.

Confusion invaded Peyton's pretty features and she shook her head, obviously not understanding. "What about her?"

"I saw her today. With your brother. And i'm sorry for coming here to ask you about it but I couldn't exactly walk up to her and ask her but it's something I need to know and I can't explain why." Lucas paused and took a deep breath. He was dreading the answer, one way or another. "Is it serious between them? Does she love him?"

"That's why you're here? You want to know if Brooke loves Logan? Are you serious?" Peyton almost laughed but she could see Lucas's discomfort in asking her this.

"I'm here aren't I? I don't know why I need to know Peyton but I just do..."

"What if she is? Why should it bother you that they're together? Are you going to do something about it?"

"Of course not! I'm married!" Lucas began to argue but Peyton cut him off.

"I don't need a reminder thanks. I can't believe you come here after, what, 7 months, and this is what you ask me?" she had to admit that it hurt her a little that Lucas was here to talk about Brooke and not to try to salvage what was left of their relationship.

"I'm sorry. Really I am, I wish things could be different for us, I wish we were still friends Peyton, but you handed me an ultimatum and I did what I needed to do but you punished me for that! I came here because even though you don't want anything to do with me you're the only one who'll tell me the truth."

"How do you know I don't want anything to do with you? Have you asked me since that day you walked out of here? Have you bothered to call and see how I was doing?"

"That's a 2 way street, Peyton, you didn't call me either... And don't act like it was all me, that I was the one who walked out on this friendship. You kept pushing..."

"I didn't want this Luke! Do you think I like not being able to call my best friend because I'm afraid he'll hang up on me or that his wife will answer and make me feel worse? I'm terrified that you and Rachel will prove me wrong and I'll never get you back!"

Lucas shook his head and bit his lip to stop him saying anything further. "I didn't want this either. But it happened and now here we are..."

"Ok, so you want the answer to your question? The answer is no, she doesn't love him. He's been in town for about 6 weeks and I can tell he's already getting itchy feet. It's only a matter of time before he takes off again, the only reason he hasn't yet is because he actually really likes Brooke. From what I can tell, she likes him too but she's not ready for anything serious. Do what you want with that information, but don't ever ask me again." Peyton turned away and faced the window again, not wanting Lucas to see her cry.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for everything Peyton. While we're being honest with each other - I haven't proved you wrong. Probably won't either. I hope that gives you some sort of comfort." Lucas turned to leave as Peyton looked back at him.

"It doesn't. It actually makes me wish I could've protected you better."

Lucas nodded "I guess I'll see you at the party." he said before leaving the apartment. He wasn't sure what he would do with that information but it made the knot in his stomach loosen just a little.

Rachel was in a foul mood when Lucas came in from work late on the Friday evening before Sophie's birthday party. "Where have you been?" she demanded before he had even taken off his coat. "I have been waiting for over an hour, I was supposed to meet Lauren and Steph for drinks but I actually waited around because you wanted to talk!"

Lucas sighed and walked past her to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, he was exhausted. It was after 9 and he had a really long day which had started with a really tough exam that morning before he then had to race across town to go to work. He had made Rachel promise to be there when he got home so they could talk a few things over but all he wanted to do now was crawl into bed and not wake up. "I'm sorry, things were crazy at the office. That new client I was telling you about is giving us so much grief, we had to get a whole bunch of contracts drawn up for a meeting first thing Monday."

"Lucas! I don't care about your client... I've got someplace to be so you have 5 minutes to say what you have to say." Rachel tapped her foot impatiently, her hands on her slender hips.

"Rachel, why are you going out? We have to leave here at 6 in the morning to drive to Hartford tomorrow..."

"Lucas, I'm not going to Hartford so it doesn't matter if I go out or not."

Lucas slammed his coffee mug onto the counter and clenched his jaw, willing himself not to completely lose it. "When did you decide that you weren't going? Before or after I came home late?"

Rachel glared back at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "I don't feel like spending my weekend with screaming children running around me and trying to be polite to your relatives when it is so painfully obvious that they don't want me there and the feeling is mutual."

"Rachel, you've known about this for weeks. It's just a weekend. We hardly ever go to Hartford anymore anyway, why does this have to be such a big deal?"

"If it were my choice, we wouldn't go there at all! And besides, I never promised you I would go, there are much better ways I would rather spend my Saturday than listening to Haley prattle away about some 'hilarious' thing that happened at her school and Nathan's boring devotion to his family. My god, the guy is hot but when he opens his mouth I just want to go to sleep! Oh and by the way, Haley left a message on the answering machine to let you know that Brooke and Peyton would be there. Well wouldn't that just be a mountain of laughs for me?"

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He so rarely asked anything of his wife, especially when it came to spending time with his family, but this one time when he really needed her support she was flaking on him. "Rachel, it's just one weekend..." he repeated.

"I don't care! I'm sick of it! You talk to them all of the time! If you're not texting Nathan, you're calling Haley and Sophie. Are they more important than me, Lucas?"

"You're never here! It's not like I have a tonne of other friends to call or text, you've made sure of that! I spend most of my nights waiting up for you, worrying about you! I'm sick of that! When you say jump, I jump and i'm sick of that too. You are so unbelievably selfish, Rachel. Do you even love me? Do you care that I don't want to wake up in the morning? That some days when I go to work, I think about jumping in front of the train? I can't do this anymore Rachel!"

"Don't be so dramatic Lucas! Oh my god, I can't believe you would say that to me. What happened to you? When we met, you were by my side when I went out partying, you were always the last to leave the club. You would beg to go out, desperate to shake off the old Lucas. Or should I say, desperate to shake off Brooke. You wanted what I offered, Lucas, you begged for it and correct me if i'm wrong, you loved every minute of it. So what now? I'm not who you thought you married? Ditto, hubby. There's just one difference, i'm not the one who changed. You did."

"I guess I can't argue with that. I have changed, i'm not who I was when I met you and I sure as hell am not the person I was before I met you. I don't know who I am anymore..."

"Do you feel better now? You got it all out... Can we move on? I might be convinced to stay at home if you make it worth my while..." Rachel moved towards him and began to unbutton his shirt. Lucas looked down at her and for the first time since he met her, she had absolutely no affect on him. She kissed his neck and moved her hand towards his belt buckle but he grabbed it tightly and pulled away from her.

"I don't love you." Lucas searched her eyes for her reaction but she just glared back at him. The revelation was a relief to him, he could feel a small piece of his old self seep back into him.

"Lucas" Rachel sighed, already bored with his emotional drama. "Can we just forget this? Let's do something for the 2 of us, let's go to Atlantic City this weekend, gamble, drink, have sex all day. It will be fun. You remember what that is?"

"No, Rachel. I'm going to Hartford tomorrow to my niece's birthday party. I'm going to pack."

"You packed your overnight bag this morning..."

"I'm packing all my stuff. At least what I can take with me now anyway. I'll pick up the rest of my stuff on Monday."

Rachel had the good grace to look shocked and met his eyes. "You're leaving me?"

"We both know this isn't working. This is best for both of us. This marriage is killing me, and I don't think it's roses for you either."

"This is ridiculous, all this because I won't go to a stupid children's birthday party? You're not leaving me Lucas!"

"Rachel, shut up! This whole thing was a huge mistake! I'm sorry, I'm not blaming you, I blame myself. I lost myself, Rachel and now I don't know who I am."

Lucas laid a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off and stared at him in disgust.

"You bastard." she growled. " You're a loser, Lucas. I thought you could have been someone important, WE could have been important. When I agreed to marry you it was because you led me to believe that we wanted the same things, and then all you would do was talk about starting a family and moving out of the city! Did you ever think that would be enough for me, Lucas?" Rachel hated to admit it but this hurt more than she thought it would. Lucas had been her chance to make something of her life and now he was walking out on her.

"I can't be who you want me to be. Maybe in the beginning I went along for the ride, partying with you, meeting the people you wanted me to meet, but that just wasn't me, Rachel. I'm sorry."

"You're small town, Lucas, you always were. Get out. I'll send your stuff to Nathan and Haley's. Don't come here ever again, you'll hear from my lawyer." Rachel shoved him towards the door, her anger building. "Go back to your precious family!"

Nathan answered the door warily, the baseball bat hidden behind his back. It was after 2am and he and Haley weren't accustomed to late night visitors. He relaxed when he saw Lucas peering back at him, soaking wet from the heavy rain that had been falling all week.

"Lucas, what's wrong?" he opened the door wider to let his brother in, taking his coat and bag and throwing them into the nearest closet. Haley appeared at the top of the stairs and seeing Lucas, she rushed down, her mind whirling frantically at the possible reasons for Lucas's late night appearance.

"Luke, what happened?" she grabbed her friends hand, noticing his dishevelled state.

"I left Rachel. My marriage is over." Lucas took a step back so he was leaning against the wall and he slumped to the floor. Haley kneeled beside him and looked up at Nathan, her expression sorrowful and worried at the same time. Nathan disappeared as Haley pulled Lucas into a hug.

"Lucas, i'm so sorry." She could hear Nathan enter the living room behind her from the kitchen, she looked around and saw him place two glasses on the coffee table along with a bottle of whiskey. Haley smiled at Nathan's way of helping to comfort his brother. She helped her friend and led him to her living room which had been decorated earlier that evening with pink and silver balloons and 'Happy Birthday' banners across the walls in preparation for their daughters party the following afternoon.

Lucas lowered himself onto the couch and sagged with despair. He managed to pull off his black NYU hoodie which Haley took from him and tossed onto the single seater sofa on the other side of the room. Nathan sat at the opposite end of the couch and poured two generous shots of Jameson's into the glasses in front of him, handing one to Lucas who immediately downed it in one go, wincing as the drink burned the back of his throat. Haley hovered around him nervously but when Nathan winked at her, she quietly went upstairs and prepared the guest room, that is, if Lucas didn't end up passing out on the couch. Upstairs, Haley allowed herself a small smile of relief. She had prayed that Lucas would come to his senses and finally see Rachel for what she was; a selfish, over-indulged user. Her only hope now was that Lucas would get through this in one peace and one day be happy again. Haley decided to go to bed and let Nathan help his brother to figure things out.

Downstairs, Lucas was lowering back his third shot. Nathan joined him, also wincing at the effect of the fiery liquid. "You need a place to stay?" Nathan asked, pouring more shots.

"Yeah. Thanks." Lucas leaned his head back against the couch and allowed the alcohol to take affect. His muscles began to loosen, the earlier tension melting away. His mind began to cloud over and he smiled at the release.

"Is it over for good?" Nathan sipped his next shot a little more slowly. He had 12 five year olds running around his house tomorrow, a hangover was the last thing he needed.

"Yup." Lucas opened his eyes and took another drink. "I'll talk to a lawyer next week."

"You sure about this?"

Lucas nodded and again closed his eyes. He was so damn tired, had been for months. For the first time in his life, Lucas Scott had no idea who he was or what he wanted. He knew one thing for certain though. He'd been a fool. He'd let go the best thing to ever happen to him and he had wasted 5 years studying something he had no interest in. On Monday he would drop out of Law school and move away from New York.

"Mi Casa, Su Casa, brother." Nathan clinked his glass against his brother's empty one and swallowed the rest of his drink.


	13. Chapter 13

I am the worst updater in the world, but thanks so much to those of you who have stuck with me and keep on reading, I appreciate it so much and your reviews keep me coming back to it. This fic has totally veered off it's original course, it was supposed to be a heartbreaking tale of 2 people torn apart by their pasts - if you've heard the song Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, that was more along the lines I was going for, but I'm a sucker for happy endings and I hate to have my characters miserable. There's a few more chapters in me yet, but I thought I'd keep you all updated on how I'm doing. Any ideas for an ending????

Chapter 13

Nathan winced as a dozen squealing children whizzed past him chasing each other through his kitchen and into the backyard. The rain had finally let up so the kids could run free and not totally wreck his home. His head was pretty tender this morning, but Lucas was much worse. They had managed to finish the entire bottle between them and hadn't gone to bed until after 5am. Lucas was sitting beside him now, munching on chips and gulping down as much water as he possibly could and waiting for the Advil to kick in. The doorbell rang and Lucas groaned; it was either more loud children or worse, Peyton and Brooke. It was bad enough facing his mother this morning, she was now running around with Haley distributing food and drinks while talking to the other parents. She had made sure to sit down with him earlier that morning before anyone arrived and hear him out while he explained everything that had happened between he and Rachel. Karen couldn't hide her relief and was supportive of her son's decision.

"Aunt Brooke! Aunt Peyton!" Sophie burst past her Dad and uncle and into the waiting arms of Brooke and Peyton who had just walked into the kitchen, followed by Jake and Jenny, who was hiding shyly behind her father.

"Hey Birthday Girl! Wow, you really know how to throw a shindig girlfriend! Thanks for inviting me!" Brooke hugged Sophie tightly but rose awkwardly when she noticed Lucas staring at her. He and Nathan were sitting at the kitchen table both looking a little worse for wear. Both Brooke and Peyton nodded politely at Lucas in greeting.

"Thanks for coming guys. Jenny, why don't you go outside and play on the bounce house with Sophie and her friends? Uncle Keith is out there barbequing hot dogs. I'm sure if you ask him real nice he'll fix up his special…?" Haley coaxed 8 year old Jenny from behind Jake, the child's eyes lighting up as she made a speedy exit to the backyard. "Where's Logan? I thought he was coming?"

"He got a call for a job up in Boston last night. He had to leave first thing this morning." Brooke informed Haley, grabbing a cookie from the plate she was holding. Everyone grabbed a plateful of food and stood around the kitchen awkwardly.

"This is nice, all of us here together again." Haley took a sip of wine nervously.

"The place looks great Hales." Peyton offered when no one else would respond.

Lucas stood and made his way into the living room, apologising the Haley as he excused himself. She sighed and looked to Nathan who just shrugged and took another swig of his water. Peyton lowered her gaze and stared at her shoes, suddenly finding a scuff mark on her flat black satin pumps extremely fascinating.

"So where's the hell hound?" she asked, still not looking up.

Nathan stood, cursing quietly and shaking his head. "Before you start the bitching Peyton, she's not here. If you must know, Lucas walked out on her last night and he's not feeling so great about it. And before you start with the 'I told you so's', just give him a break. The guy's been through enough." Nathan's glare lingered on Peyton before he stepped out to the backyard to join his uncle at the barbeque followed by Jake.

"Well now I feel shitty." Peyton pouted and sat down in the chair vacated by Nathan. Brooke stayed silent and stood for a few more minutes in the kitchen before excusing herself to use the bathroom.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

She found him sitting on the swing chair on the front porch, his legs so long that he could rest them up on the railing in front of him that stretched the width of the house. A light cough announced her presence and broke him out of his reverie. When Lucas looked up, Brooke was standing a few feet away from him, leaning lazily against the porch rail, watching him carefully.

"Hi." she spoke first, her husky voice sounding strange after so long. It wasn't just her who was aware that these were the first words spoken by them since he moved out of their apartment almost a year ago. So much had changed since then.

"Hi." Lucas didn't know what else he could say.

"For two people who have a hard time shutting up, we sure are quiet today…" Brooke shifted awkwardly where she stood. Her Manolo clad feet were starting to ache - her sensitive feet always screamed in protest whenever she wore high heels, usually she ignored them but these were new shoes and she knew she would hobble back to the hotel tonight in agony if she didn't do something about it now. It took two attempts but she managed to heft herself up into a sitting position on the porch rail, adjusting her dress a little so as not to reveal too much to her ex boyfriend. "Nathan just told us about Rachel. I'm so sorry Lucas. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Thanks. I'm fine, really. Well, not really but I will be." Lucas forced himself to look away from her. Brooke looked incredible as she always did but it had been so long since he seen her at such close proximity that it was jarring to have those brown eyes staring at him so intently, boring into him, searching for something. For what, he didn't know. Her hair was cut shorter and she was wearing a turquoise wrap dress, a colour he adored on her.

"Lucas, I…." she trailed off. "I'm sorry things turned out the way they did for you." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I didn't want what happened between us to affect you and Peyton. She misses you, you know? She's a stubborn old hag but she's torn without you. It's hurting her just as much as it's hurting you."

"What happened between Peyton and I wasn't caused by you Brooke. I managed to screw that one up all by myself as I have with many things this past year." Lucas looked away quickly so she couldn't see his pained expression. "I miss her too. I have a lot of regrets but I have to live with the consequences of the choices I made. No matter how stupid they were."

"Don't we all…" Brooke gave him a somewhat bittersweet smile that spoke the thousands of words they both so desperately wanted to say to each other. She slid carefully off the rail and flattened out the creases in her dress before turning to go back into the house.

"Brooke?" Lucas called after her and she turned to face him once again. "I'm sorry to you too. You deserved a lot better than me. I'm happy you've found someone." he hoped she couldn't hear the lie in his voice.

Brooke bit her lower lip and nodded, not quite sure if she could speak. Seeing him again, so vulnerable and sad, it took all her strength not to rush to his side, to lay his head in her lap like she used to and runs her fingers through his hair, whispering words of affection and soothing his troubles away. She swallowed hard before answering, hoping her voice wouldn't crack. "Lucas, if you ever need anybody to talk to I hope you know that you can always call me. Anytime. I would like for us to be friends." she looked to him hopefully and was relieved to see a small smile play on his lips.

"It's what I want more than anything." He leaned his head back on the chair as he watched his ex girlfriend go back into the house and smiled a little more cheerfully than he would have done an hour ago. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

It was a long and exhausting day but finally the last of the over excited and over tired 5 year olds were collected, Sophie and Jenny were fast asleep on the couch in front of the TV and the adults could sit back, relax and enjoy a few glasses of wine.

Haley was thrilled with how the day had turned out. There had been no arguments between any of her friends and Sophie had had a great birthday.

Everyone was still in the kitchen sitting on available chairs and counter tops. Haley made herself comfortable on Nathan's lap and took a long sip of the Australian white wine which was doing the rounds amongst her guests.

"I propose a toast…!" Karen Roe announced and everyone murmured their agreement. "To Sophie, our wonderful birthday girl -"

"Who will maybe one day learn how uncool it is to fall asleep during your own birthday party…" Brooke interrupted and got a few laughs.

"I agree…Haley what are you teaching your daughter?" Karen continued, but wobbled slightly, obviously having had a glass or two too many. "But I also want to propose a toast to Nathan and Haley, my two unofficial babies."

The couple smiled and nodded their appreciation to their friends and family.

"It hasn't been easy for you two but you both have made us incredibly proud." Karen paused and smiled at Deb, who was tearing up slightly as she grabbed her son's hand and gave it a good squeeze. "You guys have beaten the odds and have become a beautiful, successful, wonderful little family. Now all Nathan needs to do is get a ring on that girls finger and we'll all be happy!"

The group let out a loud cheer in agreement and Nathan kissed the back of Haley's neck as everyone drank to Karen's toast. He was the designated driver for the evening and would be driving everyone back to their hotels later.

"Can I just say something real quick?" Lucas stood and addressed the room, wobbling slightly himself, a lot more drunk than his mother was. He glanced briefly at Peyton who was sat on the counter top opposite him. "I have been quite a jackass for the better part of a year and I want to apologise to all of you for putting up with me… and to those of you who didn't." he looked pointedly at Peyton who shifted uncomfortably on the cold marble counter top. "By now, you all know that my marriage has failed. Rachel and I have separated, which I'm sure she is much happier about than I am. I tried my best to make her happy, but I failed. So now I propose a toast!" Lucas raised his glass too fast and spilled a little wine to the floor. "To sucky marriages and bitter divorces, to girlfriends who cheat and to guys who let the best thing to ever happen to them to get away. And finally to friends! The one's who stick by you and the one's who don't. You were all right - I was a terrible boyfriend but I was an even worse husband." Lucas giggled a little hysterically. "I think I better go to bed before I make an even worse fool of myself. To the fool who never could talk about how he really felt!" With that, Lucas put down his glass and stumbled out of the room and up the stairs.

His friends looked at each other awkwardly, but Haley stood to go and check on him. Peyton stopped her. "I'll go Haley." she insisted. Haley gave her a dark look but nodded and sat back down as Peyton followed Lucas upstairs where she found him sprawled across the bed in the guest bedroom.

"You're really a showstopper, Scott." she joked lamely, sitting down on the bed beside where he lay.

"Peyton…" Lucas sighed but didn't lift his head from the pillow. "If you've come up here to lecture me or rub it in, please don't. I've heard every insult, every day from my wife. I can't take anymore."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry actually." Peyton stared out the window that faced the backyard. The bounce house had been deflated and was now nothing more than a colourful plastic heap. Garden toys were strewn everywhere, the swing set lightly swinging in the breeze. She looked down at her broken friend, whose confidence had been shattered. Peyton clenched her fists in rage. She would have gave anything at that moment to inflict serious damage on Rachel Gattina. Lucas lifted his head and looked at her curiously.

"I couldn't stand the thought of you throwing your life away with someone who didn't deserve you one bit. I thought that by threatening you with a life without me in it, you would come to your senses. When you didn't and you chose her over me, it hurt me a lot. It took me a long time to realise you were a grown man who needed to make his own mistakes. I realised I couldn't keep trying to protect you. If you hadn't noticed already, I kind of don't like not being the most important girl in yours and Nathan's lives." Peyton chuckled.

"I kept trying to tell you that. .." Lucas interjected.

"Lucas, you know me. When I make up my mind about something or someone, there's no changing it. When I believe I'm right, no one, not even Jake, can convince me otherwise. It's my worst trait. I'm just lucky Jake loves to fight otherwise I would have lost him a long time ago." Peyton swallowed down the lump in her throat. She hated crying, growing up with 3 big brothers taught you that crying go you nothing but a harder kick up the butt.

"Back then Peyton, I was angry and hurt and I said a lot of things…"

"I said worse things!" Peyton yelped. "Oh my god Lucas, I was a bitch!"

"I won't disagree with you there." Lucas smiled. Peyton almost smiled but their was nothing funny about the conversation they were having. This was make or break time for them, she would either get her friend back or lose him forever. She was hoping for the former.

"Lucas, this year has been the hardest of my entire life. I hardly ever get to see Nathan and not having you to turn to was agony. You have no idea how many times I went to dial your number when something good or bad happened to me. I was just too damn stubborn to call you and tell you how sorry I was."

"I'm so sick of all the drama, Peyton. Can we just pretend the last few years didn't happen? Let's go back to freshman year in high school. Nathan and I are going to join the basketball team, you're going to become angst ridden and hormonal. You were so much easier to get along with when you were a teenager."

"I get that a lot." Peyton laughed and rested her hand on Lucas's arm. "I wish it were that easy. Maybe we can try to pick things up again? I'll call you, you call me, maybe we'll hang out, go on a friend date?"

"That would be wonderful." Lucas smiled slightly before letting his head drop back to the pillow. "Peyton?" Lucas's voice was muffled.

"Yes friend?"

"There's something I need to tell you. For the purpose of full disclosure and everything."

"Oh. Ok. Is it bad?" Peyton looked worried for a moment. Drunken confessions were not what she wanted right in the middle of her and Lucas's reconciliation.

"When Brooke and I broke up, I was really screwed up about it."

"I know. I remember." Peyton agreed.

"No I mean I was a lot worse than I ever let on. It felt like my whole world came crashing down, losing Brooke was the worst possible thing I could have imagined. Do you remember when I disappeared for a few weeks right before I introduced you all to Rachel?"

"Um…yeah… we were freaking out because we didn't know where you were. You were in Mexico right?"

"No I wasn't. I lied because I didn't want anyone to know where I really was."

"Luke, what are you talking about? Mexico is where you met Rachel isn't it?"

"I was in hospital in Tree Hill. I tried to kill myself, Peyton. I went back home and I overdosed."

Peyton gasped and shook her head, her eyes instantly brimming with tears which she fought to hold back. "Oh my god, Luke. Why didn't you tell me? I can't believe you went through that alone." Peyton grasped Lucas's hand and squeezed tightly, laying her head on Lucas's back as he was still stomach down, and cried freely.

"I'm sorry Peyton. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone knowing that I did something so stupid. I wasn't alone though. My mom took care of me, I spent a few weeks in hospital. They told me I had a breakdown and I got help. That's when I met Rachel. She was visiting her sister. Not in Mexico like I told you. I knew she was wrong for me and our relationship was a disaster, but she got me through those dark months, Peyton, and for that I can't hate her."

Peyton hugged him harder, afraid to let her friend go. "I'm so sorry Lucas, I'm so so sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry."

"It's ok Peyton, I'm sorry too." Lucas squeezed Peyton's hand tighter, comforted by the weight of his friend on his back.

"Please don't ever not tell me stuff like that again. Please? No matter how much of a bitch I am, please always tell me if things are that bad." Peyton sobbed.

"I promise." Lucas turned over to face his friend. "I feel like I'm falling again, Peyt. I don't know who I am anymore, I feel like I'm fading to nothing."

"You are not nothing, Lucas!" Peyton grabbed him fiercely. "You are Lucas Scott and you are loved by so many people. We're going to get you back to your old self, Luke, I promise. I'm not going anywhere, ever again. We're your family and you're going to be just fine. You understand me?"

Lucas's response was muffled by the pillow he was holding against his face, trying to hide his own tears. He couldn't believe that he'd been reduced to this, that this is how his life had turned out. Twenty three years old and he was depressed, separated, a dropout and he was alone. Peyton's reassurances didn't comfort him too much.

"Do you hear me Lucas?" Peyton demanded, fuelled by desperation and anger. She pulled the pillow away from her fellow blonde and forced him to look at her. "Don't you dare start that 'woe is me' crap, Lucas Scott. "You are not a failure and you will not be alone in this either."

Lucas flinched at his friends ability to always read his mind. How did she do that?

"Peyton, I've screwed everything up. It's a mess…"

"It can be fixed. You can figure this out, Luke. I promise you it's going to be ok. Jake and I are here for you, as are Nathan and Haley, your mom and Keith. And you know Brooke would do anything for you…"

Lucas winced at the mention of his ex-girlfriends name. All his problems paled in comparison to the pain he felt every time he thought about what he'd lost with Brooke.

"I really miss her…" Lucas whispered without thinking.

"Well duh, that much was obvious when you showed up at my place demanding the dish about her and Logan."

Lucas smiled for the first time and it almost reached his eyes. "Thank you Peyton."

"Thank you for forgiving me Lucas. Let's not do this again, ok? Holding grudges is exhausting, and I swear Jake Jagielsky secretly has his bags packed, just waiting for me to start up bitching again."

Lucas just smiled. He was exhausted and fighting against the sleep he so desperately needed. Peyton noticed for the first time, now that she was really looking at him, the deep black circles under his eyes and the light in them that had dimmed.

"Go to sleep, buddy. We'll talk soon. Just take things easy and have a lie in. I'll bribe Sophie not to wake you in the morning." Peyton pushed herself off the bed and stood and stretched.

"Peyton?" Lucas was starting to doze and Peyton smiled fondly at him. "You know you are important to us, right? To Nathan and I? You're the only one who can kick our asses. Haley and Soph are Nathan's life obviously, but in his mind you're his sister Peyton. You're my sister. You're the only one who truly doesn't take any of our shit and you keep us honest. You know everything about us, you know when we need someone to talk to and when we need our distance. No one knows us the way you do, Peyt. You're always going to be one of the most important people in our lives."

Peyton swallowed the lump in her throat yet again. "Thank you Lucas. Good night, babe."

She left the room and closed the door behind her. Peyton slumped against the wall and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She too was exhausted. Hearing the echoes of laughter downstairs, she pulled herself together. She and her friends had some serious talking to do.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The hotel room was cold and lifeless when Brooke let herself in shortly after 2am. She flicked on the lights and turned up the heater, shivering slightly. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally drained after the night she had just had. Peyton's little 'revelation' to the group had completely floored them and all eyes had turned accusingly to Karen and Keith who had kept the secret to themselves.

"He's my son, Peyton. I got him the help he needed and in return he made me promise not to tell anybody." Karen put down her glass of wine. The jovial mood of the day has passed, replaced by shock and concern. "You know Lucas, he's very proud and the last thing he wanted was for anyone to know how much he had fallen apart."

Brooke slid from the counter she had been sitting on. Her legs weren't as steady as she thought and she grabbed the counter for support, her sudden clumsiness was nothing to do with the alcohol she had consumed. "It's all my fault." She whispered. Jake was the only one to hear her and he grabbed her before she could fall to the floor.

"Brooke, this is not your fault." He looked to the rest of the group who all echoed his words.

"Of course it is!" she yelled. "I destroyed him. I cheated, I didn't keep my promises, I kept putting my job before him and I let him go!" Brooke shook herself free from Jake's grip and moved unsteadily away from the counter, not sure where she actually wanted to go. She looked around the room as if she had never seen it before. Haley stood and tried to pull her into a hug but Brooke pulled out of her grasp too. "You were all so mad at him for our break up when it was me you should have been mad at! Why didn't you yell at me? I was the one who cheated, he was perfect and I fucked it all up. He went to Rachel because I screwed him up!"

"Brooke, we know you made a mistake. We don't blame you for any of this. We don't blame Lucas either." Haley sighed and shook her head. They'd all screwed up and none of them had been there when Lucas really needed them. He hadn't come to them, what kind of friends were they?

Brooke backed away to the counter again and slid to the floor, sobbing. "I loved him so much."

Haley and Peyton sat beside Brooke and tried their best to comfort her, their own guilt overwhelming them.

Nathan was silent, sitting still as stone; he hadn't moved or spoken since Peyton had told them what Lucas had confessed to her. His mother was standing behind him, both her hands on his shoulders, gripping him tightly. How could this have happened and he not know about it? How could he not know his own brother had been so depressed that he had stolen his step father's vicadin and downed the whole bottle with a half bottle of Southern Comfort? Had he been so consumed with his own problems that he was oblivious to everyone else's? Nathan leaned forward and dropped his head into his hands. He felt sick as he envisioned what Lucas must have been thinking of as he took those pills. Was he at that point again now that his marriage was over? Would he try to do it again? Would he be successful? Nathan swallowed hard. He would not allow his thoughts to go there. Deb leaned forward, her arms wrapping around him and it was surprisingly comforting. Nathan couldn't remember the last time his mother had held him, let alone actually make him feel slightly better. "It's going to be ok, sweetheart" she whispered to him. "You can take care of him now that you know everything. He's going to be ok".

"How do you know that?" Nathan whispered back. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You don't need me to tell you that. You're his brother, you know what he needs."

Nathan stood and ran both his hands through his growing hair. "Brooke stand up." He ordered. The three women on the floor looked up at him, all three of them were crying. He would have laughed if it were not for the situation they all found themselves in. They all stood up and looked at him expectantly. "Brooke quit crying. What's done is done, this isn't anybody's fault. This is a shitty situation but we have to move on from it. Lucas is in a bad way and we need to pull him out of it. He doesn't have anywhere to live and he quit his job and school. So first things first, he'll move in here."

"Nathan, I was going to take him home to Tree Hill." Karen interrupted, a little cross.

Nathan turned to Karen and nodded as if thinking about it. "Karen, I think Luke needs all of us around him right now and if he was in Tree Hill that would make it a lot more difficult for us to see him. He has a room here and Jake and the girls are just a few hours away."

Karen and Keith shared a look and it was obvious that Lucas's mother was reluctant to let other people take care of her son, even if it was his own brother. "Ok." She said softly, turning to Keith who put both arms around her.

"Ok." Nathan was all business again. Haley was a little surprised at Nathan's new 'take charge' attitude. He was usually so laid back and happy to let other people take centre stage, but it seemed his new job was boosting his confidence in many areas of his life. Haley hadn't seen him so sure of himself since his days on the basketball court all those years ago. "So Luke is going to live here for awhile so he can get his head together and figure out what he wants to do. I don't want him to feel like we're babysitting him and all of you better take that sad look out of your eyes before you talk to him again. He's still Lucas, we're not going to walk on eggshells around him." Nathan looked at Brooke and Peyton harshly. "And you two are gonna drop the Rachel shit. Peyton, you want your friend back, this is your chance. Brooke, if you love him as much as you say you do, forget the past and just figure out whether you want to be back in his life." He turned to look at his own girlfriend. "And you most of all better stop being so sad. He already has a mother, you've got your own kid to fuss over ok? Just be his best friend. Jake and I will take care of the guy stuff."

Peyton snorted a laugh. "What guy stuff?"

Jake laughed and nodded at Nathan. "Like taking him out, getting him drunk, and playing basketball."

"And that's the miracle cure? Basketball is gonna make everything better?" Peyton shook her head and smirked at her best friend.

"No. But it sure makes everything suck a little less. It got him through High School."

"We all got each other through High School." Haley said quietly.

"Then it's agreed. We all get him through this." Nathan looked at all his friends who nodded in agreement.

Brooke kicked off her shoes and pulled her dress over her head. Sitting on the edge of the bed in her underwear, she massaged her aching feet. Everything felt a lot heavier than it had yesterday when the only thing she was worried about was making sure she looked hot at the party so that she felt better when she met Lucas's wife for the first time. Now everything had changed again and Brooke didn't know where she fit in. Lucas's marriage was over and he had pretty much admitted that he regretted leaving her. But he was also extremely unhappy right now and Brooke wished more than anything that she knew how to fix it. Not for the first time, she wished she could turn back the clock and try to pinpoint the exact time when things had begun to change between them so that she could scream at her past self 'Stop right there! Don't say what you just said, don't leave at that moment, don't turn away from him!' but it was impossible to find that moment, it had snuck up on them so quietly and so quickly that one day she just woke up and wondered why she didn't feel like that happiest, luckiest girl in the world when she looked at the man sleeping beside her.

Brooke lay back on the bed, not bothering to search for her pyjamas somewhere in her suitcase. She tried to think back, to think of that one point when she knew that Lucas was everything she wanted or needed and was surprised she could remember it easily. It was the moment that she thought of most of after they broke up, the moment that haunted her when she would cry herself to sleep as recently has a month ago. It was amazing how a simple lazy Sunday in bed could change your whole life, change everything you thought you wanted and make you realize that the life you had planned was empty and unimportant unless he was part of it.

******************************************

"_You know we have to leave this room sometime today, right?" Lucas panted heavily, his hands gripping his girlfriend's hips tightly as she gave one last satisfied moan before crashing down beside him, spent. _

"_Why leave when we could be doing this all day?" Brooke snuggled closer to him and Lucas raised his arm so she could get comfortable. She nipped his chest playfully and ran her tongue over the bite marks. _

"_I'm not complaining, believe me. " Lucas closed his eyes, enjoying the sensations everywhere Brooke was touching him. "God I love you."_

"_You love God?" Brooke raised her eyebrows at him, a smile playing at her lips._

"_I love you." Lucas smiled at her. It wasn't the first time he had said to her and she had said it back just as many times but every time he said it he meant it more and more._

"_I love you too, baby." Brooke raised her head and kissed him softly. "We should call Nathan and Haley today, see how that beautiful little baby of theirs is doing." It had only been a few weeks since Sophie was born and this was the first weekend that Brooke and Lucas hadn't travelled to Hartford to see her._

"_We should. I miss her." Lucas did miss her. They had gone to Hartford every weekend since she was born and he couldn't get enough of his niece. She was perfect, beautiful, and he was completely jealous of Nathan who got to see her every day and be her father. _

"_You really adore her don't you?" Brooke asked, reading his thoughts as usual. Was he really so easy to read?_

"_Yeah. I love kids. I've never been around them much but it's always been something I wanted." Lucas looked at Brooke carefully, wondering if he was freaking her out. She smiled back at him, no fear at all in her eyes. _

"_I never wanted kids. My parents sucked and I always thought that I was too selfish to have kids anyway."_

"_You're the most unselfish person I know. Do you still feel that way?"_

"_Actually I don't. When I see the way Haley and Nathan look at Sophie, I think that's how it's supposed to be. That's how you're supposed to feel about your child. And that makes me believe that I would be an ok mother. And you would be an amazing dad so it doesn't worry me anymore."_

_Lucas was more than a little surprised at the turn in conversation. "When did you realize that?"_

"_When you held Sophie in the hospital. You caught me watching you. I knew then I would like to have kids, as long as it was with you. Am I freaking you out?"_

"_No, actually, I've known that I wanted kids with you since I first met you."_

"_Seriously?" Brooke raised herself and leaned on her elbow to see him better._

"_Yeah. Brooke, do you realize that I have been in love you with since I was 9 years old? When we first started dating, I was already thinking of our kids names." Lucas laughed, but still hoped he wasn't terrifying the little brunette in his arms. _

"_What are they?" Brooke asked in wonder. She couldn't believe she was hearing this, did she have the only man in the world who wasn't afraid of commitment, who wanted marriage, babies, pta meetings, soccer runs and never ending worry? Amazingly, it was only when she started dating Luke that Brooke actually thought that that life could actually make her happy because every day would be spent with him. Lucas looked embarrassed now, as if he had told her too much, but Brooke was thrilled._

"_Um... well I always pictured two boys and a girl. James, after Haley, Lee because that's Nathan's middle name and Raven for a girl." _

"_You're naming our boys after our friends and our daughter after a basketball team?" Brooke pulled a pillow from under Lucas's head and walloped him with it. "Do I get any say in this?" _

"_Do you have better ones?" Lucas teased, grabbing a pillow of his own._

"_As a matter of fact I do. Two girls and a boy. Melody, Matilda and Matthew." Brooke kneeled on the bed, looking down at Lucas, her hands on her hips. "You got a problem with those names, baby?" she asked in a thick New York accent._

_Lucas grabbed her and pulled her so she was underneath him so he could tickle her mercilessly. "Yeah I'm not naming my daughter after the girl who raises herself because she has sucky parents."_

"_And I'm not...." Brooke managed between giggles "naming my daughter.... after.... a freaky...bird." _


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This is really just a filler chapter but please review and tell me what you think. I lost steam on this story, but I think i've got it back now and I think i'm gonna finish it. Please review!! Criticism and praise are welcomed!

Chapter 15

The morning after the worst night of her life, Brooke arrived back in New York on a mission. She had lain awake in her hotel room all night and had finally been able to make some definite decisions about her life. Now all she had to do was put them in action. The first phone call she made was to her father, Robert Davis, recent divorcee and big time advertising mogul with whom she arranged a lunch meeting for the following day. Being his daughter had significant advantages in messing up his extremely busy schedule. She then called her job and told them she would be taking a few personal days and finally, she called Logan who was due to return from Boston that day and whom she was supposed to be meeting for dinner that evening. As tacky as it was and she hated to do it, she broke up with him over the phone. He was of course surprised and a little confused because they had been having a lot of fun together, but Brooke knew her heart just wasn't in it and she didn't want to string him along. She didn't want to hold him back from the adventures she knew he was dying to get back to and she wasn't the kind of girl who was going to spend weeks trekking in the Amazon. Right now she had bigger fish to fry and a big plan to work out.

When Lucas woke up with a killer hangover for the second morning running, it wasn't to the usual sounds of the city that never sleeps, New York City, but to a sharp poking in his ribs.

"Luke." A tiny voice whispered. He kept his eyes closed, knowing that when he opened them, his head would explode. "Lucas" the small voice persisted, the pokes harder.

"Sophie Scott" Lucas warned "You better quit it or you're in trouble."

He heard a muffled giggle "Make me." She teased and before she knew it, a pair of hands flew out from under the covers and grabbed her whole torso, pulling her onto the bed and she screamed with laughter when her uncle tickled her and blew raspberries into her neck. She squealed with delight but managed to escape and scrambled to her feet, jumping up and down on the bed.

Lucas groaned. There was certainly no going back to sleep now when there was a 5 year old bouncing around his head at 8.30 in the morning. He should probably count himself lucky; Sophie would have been up even earlier and had shown great restraint by not waking him before then.

"Lukey Luke! My uncle Lukey Luke, drinks yucky beer and needs to puke!" she sang as she bounced around him.

"Sophie, Sophie, won't go to the park with her new bike if she doesn't get up off me." Lukey Luke sang back. She made her last jump a high one and landed on her butt next to his head.

"Mommy made waffles. Daddy's still in bed. I'm gonna wake him up too. Daddy, Daddy, when I jump on him he's gonna be so Mad-dy!" she sang again and Lucas chuckled.

"Soph, baby, light of my life; go and wake up your dad now. Let me sleep."

"But you said you were gonna take me to the park. Wake up Lucas! Get up and at 'em!" she yelled sternly, a remarkable impression of her mother.

"But my head hurts. I don't wanna." Lucas whined.

"Uncle Lucas, if you don't get out of that bed before I count to three, you're gonna be sorry." Sophie had jumped down from the bed and was leaning close to his face. She giggled when he opened one eye. "Wake up" she whispered "Or I'll scream really loud." Lucas groaned because he knew she would do it. What a pleasant conversation he and Rachel had had the last time they stayed here together and Sophie had been their wake up call. "One... Two...."

"Ok, I'm up!" Lucas sat up quickly and scowled at his niece but tugged her hair playfully. "Ya little brat. Now go wake up your Dad but don't give him any warning, just scream." He grinned as Sophie skipped out of his room to her parent's room and laughed out loud when Sophie's high pitched scream was followed by a loud thud and a string of curses.

"Lucas you are going to pay for that." Nathan called from his own room, the sound of Sophie's giggles carrying down the stairs.

Haley piled the sausages and fried eggs onto Lucas's plate and topped up his coffee. She also put a glass of water and two aspirin beside his plate. He smiled appreciatively and rubbed the stubble on his face. "I look like hell no doubt."

"You look fine, nothing a shave and a haircut won't fix." Haley said as she topped up Nathan's coffee and took a sip from her own. Nathan looked almost as bad as Lucas himself.

"You guys look like you didn't get much sleep last night." Lucas commented on both of his friend's weary demeanour.

"Actually, we were up late talking." Nathan began a little cautiously, not quite looking his brother in the eye. He didn't want Lucas to know yet that they all knew about what happened to him back in Tree Hill. "We think you should stay here for a while until you figure things out. With you quitting your job and school maybe a change of scenery would do you good. You'd get to see Soph everyday and it's easier to get to New York from here than if you were back in Tree Hill."

"That's not a bad idea. You guys don't mind me crashing?"

"Of course not, we love having you here." Haley smiled at both Lucas and Nathan. She was relieved that he had agreed to stay. Operation: Get Lucas Back On Track was now in motion.

"Mornin' Jagielsky." Jake opened one eye and looked up to find Peyton sitting up in bed, staring down at him. He often woke to find her watching him; he didn't feel weird or self-conscious about it anymore. He quite liked that even when he was asleep he could still hold her complete attention.

"Mornin' Frizz." He grinned when she glared at the use of the nickname he had given her several years ago after a particularly hot, stifling day in New York when Peyton's natural curly hair was losing the battle against the humidity. She hated it of course.

Jake turned over on his side and raised himself onto his elbow. Peyton lay back down and while facing him, tangled her legs with his own.

"I want to stop by Nathan and Haley's before we go back home." She told him.

"Of course. We can't go without saying goodbye."

"I want to see how he's doing you know?"

"Absolutely."

"Brooke texted me not so long ago, she left at the break of dawn to go home. She said she had some stuff to get done."

"Is she ok?" Jake was a little worried for Brooke after last night. As badly as everyone felt, Brooke seemed to take it worse, placing all the blame on herself.

"I think so. I'll call her tonight and find out why she bailed."

"Are you ok?" Jake brought his free hand forward to push a stray lock of hair behind her ear but he kept his hand there, burying it into her wild mass of blonde curls. Peyton took a deep breath which quivered a little. Jake had heard her crying during the night, he pretended to be asleep when he curled closer to her knowing that she hates crying in front of anyone, including him.

"I didn't sleep much. And I'm sorry I kept you awake." She smiled at him knowingly. Jake obviously wasn't as convincing an actor as he thought he was. "I'm ok though. I'm going to do what Nathan said and just leave the past behind. None of it matters anymore. I'm all about the future baby."

Peyton grinned and pulled herself closer to her boyfriend, wrapping her arm around his waist, their chests touching. It was amazing that they had lasted almost 6 years together. God knows she wasn't the easiest person in the world to live with but Jake just seemed to get her. He challenged her when others were afraid of her temper, he sparred with her and he wasn't afraid to tell her to shut the hell up when she went on one of rants. He also always knew the exact right words to say to her when she ran out of steam and what parts of her body that made her laugh out loud when he kissed it. He knew that she always needed a kiss and a hug when she called her Dad and got his voicemail for the third time running and he knew about the warm fuzzy feeling she got whenever Jenny told her she loved her. And what's more is that he knew the guilt she felt about Lucas and how that wasn't going to go away no matter what Nathan said.

Jake raised his head slightly higher to see past Peyton to the bed beside them where their daughter slept peacefully. "It seems our girl is still wiped after a hard day of partying." Peyton smiled the goofy one she always did whenever Jake said something like 'our girl' or 'our daughter'.

"Jake, you know I love you right?"

"Yeah I know that. It is nice to hear it once and a while though. And I love you, crazy girl."

"I know I don't tell you enough. I definitely don't say it enough. But just so you know, I'm yours, you're mine, and this is for good. You know we're getting married someday right?"

Jake chuckled and kissed his feisty blonde. "Of course. No one else could handle you like I can."


End file.
